Avengers Lockdown: Code Seven-Eight
by FlickeringHearth
Summary: Almost 4 months after the Battle of New York, the Avengers get a call that they're in danger. SHIELD has been compromised and they're the top targets. Three Avengers have a secret they know the others won't like - a surprise guest! Budding relationships are put to the test and Tony has discovered a secret the powers that be would rather remain a secret. Compliant w/ Avengers 2012
1. Chapter 1

Lizzy pushed the door of their shared office shut with a stack of files in her arms and let out a sigh. "It's nice being back to some normalcy."

Arriana looked up from the book she was searching through. "I know. This is the longest stretch of calm we've had since before New York."

"How long is it now?"

"Bad idea to count, you know." Michael moved the tea tray to the coffee table and dropped onto the couch. "Here you go, Arri."

"Thanks, Mickey."

Lizzy gave a sharp snort. "You know, we should really get one of those clocks that shows how many days it's been since an accident." She swept a hand through the air. "Days since planet was attacked."

Mid-drink, Arriana choked on her tea as she laughed. Michael stared for a moment and then started thumping Arriana on the back.

"Really, Lizzy?" he asked.

She kept nodding at them and sweeping her hand grandly through the air.

After several minutes shrieking with laughter in between coughs, Arriana managed to calm down enough to clear the tea from her lungs. She took a deep breath and let out a sigh. "And there could be one under it of 'days since council tried to nuke a major city'."

Lizzy rolled her eyes. "No shit." She dropped onto the couch and flopped her legs onto Michael's lap.

He simply shifted the file he was reading. "After everything, I'm amazed we made it to 24."

"Speak for yourself," Lizzy said. "I haven't gotten there yet. I've got another five days."

"Oh, I don't think we'll have any major emergencies before then," Arriana laughed.

They looked up at the beep of the intercom.

"Hey, darlin's," Cal's voice sounded normal, for which they were grateful.

"Morning, Cal," they chimed in unison.

"Damn, I feel like Charlie an' I get you three fer m' angels."

They laughed.

"Oh, I'm such a pretty angel," Michael said with a flip of his hand.

"So what's our new mission?" Lizzy laughed. Arriana clapped her hands over her mouth, trying to stifle the hysterical irony that Cal was inches from the truth but would never guess they were agents of the highest secret intelligence organization in the world. Michael quirked a brow at Lizzy and slowly shook his head.

"Your mission, should you choose to accept it," Cal said with a laugh, "is to be in the conference room at nine a.m. sharp for our weekly meetin'. There you'll find coffee and donuts. You'll need paper and…" He paused for a dramatic moment. "A pen."

"Dun, dun, dun," Lizzy giggled.

"Not a pen," Arriana softly cried. "Oh my goodness me."

He laughed. "It's 8:30 now, so you've got half an hour."

"Thanks, Cal."

The intercom beeped off again.

"Good, I'll actually remember to pee before the meeting today," Lizzy said.

Arriana laughed and glanced at her watch.

"He close?" Michael asked.

"Pretty close," she shrugged. "It's 8:32 to be exact."

"For Cal, that's spot on." Lizzy settled back and opened a file. Her 'Enter Sandman' ringtone sounded and she sighed. "Why is it every time I get comfortable something happens?"

"Fate," Michael said. "I'd think the fact that we're super-powered ninja mutants should explain just about everything."

Arriana nodded. "True. I hope I don't have to take back the comment about no major emergencies before your birthday."

"Don't hold your breath." Lizzy grabbed her phone. "Morning, Director."

The deep voice on the other end of the line growled out, "Seven-eight," and then hung up. The voice echoed through the shared portion of their minds. Code seven-eight. Level 6 emergency.

They were still for a split second, and then leaped to their feet. Arriana grabbed her and Lizzy's purses from the drawer. Lizzy opened the secret compartment in the arm of their couch, pulling out three hand guns. She loaded them with three sharp snaps. Michael hopped up on the other arm of the couch and pulled down a decorative box from the top of their overstuffed bookcase. He flipped it open, popped out the false bottom, and grabbed three packets containing their various fake Ids.

Lizzy handed a gun to each of them. As one, they slid them into their waistbands. The girls slung their purses over their shoulders, and they hurried into the hallway.

What are we going to tell him this time? Arriana asked silently, eyes flicking back and forth into each doorway and office off the hall.

Another emergency with our friends is our safest bet. Lizzy casually turned around for a second as they hurried down the hallway to check their six.

He's not going to take that as well, since we came home bloodied and beat to hell after New York. Michael put a hand on Arriana's shoulder to steady himself as he focused his mind to any human near them. He flipped through flash after flash of whatever was in their vision. Nothing unusual. With a few blinks, he focused into his own vision again.

We don't have time to explain anything anyway, Lizzy added. We'll just tell him we're not sure and we'll let him know as soon as we know anything.

They couldn't argue. I'm getting nervous that Cal will figure out who we are, Arriana sighed. She knocked and pushed his office door open.

He looked up with a smile that vanished a moment later. "What's the matter?"

"We have to go," Lizzy said. "We just got a call from one of our friends."

"Darlin'…" He was already shaking his head. "Not again. You've been gone more than here since New York."

"I'm sorry, Cal, but we have to go."

"What friend?"

"Nick," Arriana said. "We met him through our friend… Phil." She swallowed for a moment. Coulson's death was still too sharp to think about. Four years wouldn't be enough to get over it, and the four months since sure wasn't, but she also knew the emotion on their faces would throw Cal off the scent.

Cal opened his mouth to protest, but looked between them for a moment, worry pinching his brow. "Please tell me you're not goin' to New York."

"We are, Cal," Michael said. "We're meeting at Tony's."

"But…"

"It's the safest place, Cal," Arriana said. "But we really have to go."

He leaped up and hurried over to them. "You be careful. Alright?" He pulled them into a tight hug. "You're m' little minions. I can't live with anythin' happenin' to you. You understand me?"

They hugged him back.

"We know, Cal," Arriana said. "We'll call you as soon as we figure out what's going on."

Michael tightened his hug. "Hopefully whatever it is will just blow over."

"We'll text you when we land, Cal," Lizzy said.

They couldn't help themselves and hugged him for longer than they should have, afraid they might never see him again. Finally they gently used their telekinetic powers to force each other to let go, knowing they didn't quite have the self-control in that moment to make themselves let go.

"We love you, Cal," they called as they hurried out the door.

"I love you."

They pulled the door shut and walked as fast as they possibly could out of the building, grateful Heidi wasn't at her desk. Once they were out the front doors they broke into a sprint.

"I'll drive," Arriana called.

Lizzy tossed the keys to her and then jumped, sliding over the hood of their car to the passenger side. They dropped into their seats at the same moment. Arriana wrenched the car into reverse and slammed on the gas for three seconds.

The car screamed backwards, making a perfect 90 degree turn. She jammed the car into drive and dropped her foot onto the pedal again. They tore out of the parking lot.

Pulling her cell phone out, Lizzy said, "Jarvis, call Tony."

"Yes, ma'am," came the posh English voice.

The next moment they heard, "Hey, kiddo," with ACDC playing in the background. "What's up?"

"Seven-eight, Tony," she said, gripping the overhead handle as Arriana raced around another corner.

They passed a cop car. Lizzy put her hand up and thought, You don't think we're going fast enough to bother with.

Michael put his hand up and changed the color and size of their car in the cop's mind.

"Gotcha, Lizzy," Tony said. "I'll take care of it."

Lizzy slid her phone back into her pocket. "This is exactly why we should live closer to work."

"Fair, but not the time," Arriana said as she wrenched the car onto the ramp and zoomed onto the highway.

Focusing her attention for a moment into herself, Lizzy slid into the shared portion of their mind. Loki, sweetheart.

Yes, my darling? came his smooth as silk voice. You sound strained.

Emergency. We're on our way home. Get the cats into their carriers – they're in the top of the litter box closet – and the leash on Tani. Then unplug everything and grab the emergency bags.

Of course, darling. Is there anything else I need to pack?

Lizzy thought for a moment. Just about everything they could want was duplicated at Stark Tower. Grab our notebooks, Stark-pads, and our zip drives.

Right away. I'll also grab the favored stuffies.

Thanks. Lizzy refocused into her present surroundings. They were miles from home, but making good time.

"Jarvis, call Banner, and turn the Thor signal on." Tony leaped up from the scattered pieces of the engine he was working on and slid into the chair behind his desk. "Emergency mode, boys." Screens appeared around him. "Locate Avengers." A map appeared on the screen in front of him with small colored dots around the world. "Locate Stark jets." Blinking red dots appeared across the globe. "Get Banner's plane ready to go and send a car to his location."

"Sir," Jarvis's voice broke into his thoughts, "Dr. Banner."

"I hope this is important, Tony," Bruce said. His voice steady for once.

"Stitch him up, Bruce. The triplets called. We're okay, but we need to be prompt."

"I appreciate your gentle way of going about this," he said with a dry laugh. "What's going on?"

"Seven-eight." There was silence for a moment. "Bruce?"

"I need five minutes."

"A car will be waiting for you."

"Thanks."

Tony swiped the red button to end the call, and snapped his fingers. A countdown clock appeared on the screen near Bruce's green dot that read twelve hours and twenty minutes. "Get Rogers, Jarvis." He scanned the map. Let's see… Banner will be in the air shortly, as will the triplets and Loki. He flicked another countdown clock up near the triplets' pink, indigo, and yellow dots. Two hours, twenty-two minutes. Okay… Thor signaled. Barton and Romanoff… North Korea. Perfect. He rolled his eyes. Rogers… home. Good.

"H-hello?" Steve's voice was louder than necessary. "Tony? Can you hear me?"

"I can hear you, Rogers," Tony said with an epic eye roll. "Just listen, okay? The triplets called. Seven-eight. You don't need any clothes and don't bring any tech except your phone."

"Got it. I'll be out in two minutes."

"Good." He swiped the screen in front of him. The call ended and a timer automatically appeared next to Rogers's blue dot. It read twenty minutes – arrival at 9:59 a.m. "Barton, Jarvis."

"Yes, sir."

Tony rolled a ball between his hands while he waited for Barton to pick up.

"What is it, Stark?" came Barton's hissed whisper.

"The triplets called. Seven-eight."

"Got it. Mission abort. Approximately nineteen minutes to take off."

"Gotcha." The call clicked off. "Get me Pepper, Jarvis. Interrupt anything."

"Yes, sir."

He spread his hands over the map to expand the North Korea area. "Calculate with SHIELD jet speeds," he said. The countdown timer that had appeared next to their purple and red dots adjusted itself – nine hours, forty-two minutes. Getting to his feet, he paced back and forth. "Get Pepper's plane ready. Take off as soon as she's onboard."

"Ms. Potts, sir."

"Tony, what is the matter? I'm in the middle of–"

"Sorry, Pep. Emergency. Seven-eight. Don't bother finishing your meeting."

"But…"

"No, Pepper. Get in the car and get on the damn plane."

"Alright."

"I love you."

"I love you, too, Tony. But what do I tell them?"

"Tell them there's been an accident at Stark Industries and you need to see to it immediately."

"Alright." She hung up and a counter appeared next to her white dot.

"Jarvis, let Happy know I need him to make some runs to the airport. He needs to leave to get Pepper pretty soon."

"Yes, sir. Would you like me to have cars readied for any arrivals?"

"Yeah, set up a car for the triplets, and Barton and Romanoff. They're definitely capable of driving themselves no matter what gets thrown at them."

"And how would you like me to arrange Dr. Banner's arrival, sir?"

"Have Happy pick him up. The last thing he needs is driving through Manhattan traffic."

"Yes, sir."

Tony kept an eye on the timers as he watched the fifty stories of Stark Industries quickly clear of anyone else.

"What's going on?" Natasha slid down next to Clint.

"Seven-eight. We need to abort."

"Who called it?"

"The triplets."

"Right. I'll take him." She pulled out a small black pod and threw it over the wall. It began to issue a thick smoke from the edge.

"Dodaeche mwoya?" (What the hell?) were the last words of the North Korean guard.

Natasha leaped over the wall, hung from the top and wrapped her thighs around the man's neck. With a soft crunch, he stopped fighting. She let go. The man crumpled to the ground and she dropped down beside him.

An arrow flew past her ear and the soft thud of another body falling from the top of the wall was the only other sound. She raced along the wall as two more arrow flicks and soft thuds were silenced by the growing distance. With long strides, she ran up the wall and flipped over the other side, landing on a guard who let out only one soft grunt before she broke his windpipe with her fingers. The thwack of an arrow hitting and clutching into concrete made her look up. She raced forward, with the rapid steps of Clint just behind her.

A thin black rope dangled from the arrow. She paused for a quick moment for Clint to catch up to her. He clicked the trigger button on his bow and held it in front of him as the rope wound back to it. Natasha caught the bow and they were both pulled upward. She whipped out her gun, and with three rapid pops, three more bodies fell.

They didn't wait at the top of the wall and jumped the twelve feet to the ground, rolling as they landed. Popping up like wildcats, they raced out into the surrounding tree cover.

"Wires," Natasha called.

Clint shot an arrow trailing another thin black cord past her. It lodged in a thick branch far overhead. She spun and grabbed his bow. They swung over the thick brush threaded with razor sharp trip wires and landed on the other side. They kept running through half a mile before they had to slow down. Coming to the edge of the city, they crouched behind the corner of a cinder-block building and waited for three national police cars to go by. Once out of sight, they ran around to the entrance of the building.

They heaved back on the heavy steel door and then raced inside, letting it slam behind them.

"You get us off the ground, I'll open the door," Natasha said with a small wicked smile. A call came from the corner of the building. Without looking over, she fired a single shot. The leaded pop and the thud of another dead body echoed off the walls.

Dropping into the pilot seat, Clint flipped a few switches and jammed his hand down on the ignition. The roar of the turbines revving up filled the warehouse. Natasha dropped into the seat beside him. She flipped a switch, opening a hatch on the top of the jet. A short range remote missile rose from its confines. Grabbing the control stick, she punched the launch button and guided the missile into the roof of the warehouse as the jet rose from the ground.

Clint guided the jet straight up through the hole in the roof, climbing toward the stars. Natasha switched to the machine gun, spinning it to point behind them. She watched the screen and fired several quick rounds. An explosion on the ground bid them farewell.

"Somehow I don't think they'll want us to visit again soon," Clint said.

"Too bad, kind of pretty here," Natasha said, firing off a few more rounds for another explosion.

"I don't know. Our hotel wasn't up to my standards. I prefer metal to concrete."

"Picky." She flicked the switch to put the machine gun away. "We're out of short range."

"Good. Estimated arrival at eighteen-hundred, fifty-eight hours."

"Were the triplets on a mission?" Natasha asked.

"Stark didn't say. He said they were the ones who called the code."

"Hopefully they're in Stark Tower already."

As the black oblivion of the night's cloud cover swallowed them up, the pinpricks of starlight illuminated their world.

"Pretty up here," Clint said, glancing over at her.

"Eyes on the road," she said with a smile hidden in the dark.

"I am finished," Bruce said in Hindi, putting a hand on the man's shoulder. "Keep the stitches clean. Use warm water and soap at least twice every day." He turned to the man's wife. "In three weeks, carefully cut the stitches and gently pull them out. Keep cleaning for another week after you take the stitches out."

"Thank you, thank you," the woman said. "We have a chicken for you."

"Oh, no. Thank you," Bruce said. "But I must go quickly. Thank you for your generosity, but there's no charge. Feel better." He quickly grabbed his bag and raced out the door. A knot of fear wound its way around his chest as he spotted the black car waiting for him under a dim street light. What if that wasn't actually Tony? What if this is a trap? He slowly made his way toward the car.

A driver climbed out. "Dr. Banner?" the man asked.

He nodded. "Yes."

"Mr. Stark said 'stop worrying and get in the damn car'." He shifted nervously. "My apologies. I was instructed to give you the message."

Bruce let out a sigh. "Oh, no, you're… you're fine."

The driver nodded and pulled open the back door of the car. Bruce slid in with a sigh.

"Relax, Bruce," came Tony's slightly tinny voice. "The plane's waiting at the nearest airport for you."

He shook his head, letting his breath slowly slip out after the startle as he looked up at the black mesh of the speaker. "Thanks, Tony."

"You got it, big man. See you when you get here."

"Is Lizzy there yet?"

"No. She's on her way, though."

"Oh… okay." He clenched his fists for a moment and then started slowly wringing his hands.

"As Lizzy would say, deep breath, baby."

"Go away, Tony."

"See you soon." The call clicked off.

The ride to the airport took longer than the eternity he was prepared for. Bruce felt his blood pressure steadily rising and he concentrated on breathing slowly, trying to retreat in his brain to a calmer space. He could feel the box rattling in the back of his mind. Against his better judgment, he watched the clock, not wholly knowing what he was waiting for – other than a life-threatening explosion that would bring the other guy out and kill hundreds, if not thousands of people.

At seven-thirty-six the car pulled up next to the plane. It was darker here without the hundreds of lights of the city around him. He jogged up the stairs, noting that the engines were already at a roar by the time the door closed behind him.

"Please take a seat for takeoff, Dr. Banner," the flight attendant said before disappearing up front.

"Thank you." He dropped into one of the plush seats with a sigh and felt the plane start forward. As much as being in this tin can made him nervous, it felt better being in the air than on the ground where thousands of people surrounded him.

The flight attendant came back into the cabin, giving him a smile. "Would you like something to eat or drink, Dr. Banner?"

"Oh, uh…"

"Mr. Stark had me put some Coke in to chill and had several cheeseburgers brought on board for you."

He chuckled slightly. "He would do that." Still wringing his hands, he said, "Sure, that… that sounds great."

She brought the food and an ice bucket filled with bottles of Coke to him, and then disappeared up front again. Bruce was grateful for the peace and quiet. After devouring the large dinner, he settled back to rest and, before he realized he was that tired, fell asleep.

As soon as Loki was on the plane, Lizzy pulled the door shut. Arriana hurried up to the cockpit and dropped into the seat. She flipped switches and hit buttons. The sound of the engines roaring to life was the sweetest Loki had ever heard. He helped Lizzy safely stow the cats and get Tani settled, and then followed her and Michael to the front.

"Tower, this is Stark three requesting priority takeoff, en route to LaGuardia airport, New York, New York," Arriana said.

"Stark three, this is tower, you are cleared to taxi to runway two and proceed with takeoff."

Michael dropped into the co-pilot seat, and put on the headset.

"Roger, tower." Arriana pushed the throttle forward and the plane began to move. She steered the plane around to the runway. "Tower, Stark three requesting permission to takeoff."

"You are a-go, Stark three."

"Roger, tower. Stark three throttling up."

Loki stood in the door of the cabin, watching them. He loved their effortless prowess at seemingly everything. The plane picked up speed along the runway and then lurched into the air as Arriana pulled back on the stick. Loki braced himself against the cockpit threshold with Lizzy leaning back against him.

"Stark three en route to cruising altitude of 60,000 feet."

"Roger, Stark three. Safe flight."

Arriana pushed the throttle forward to climb faster. Michael glanced at a few dials and turned to the computer positioned just behind the co-pilot seat, and began tapping away.

"I've rerouted a few military aircraft and rescheduled a couple passenger flights heading to LaGuardia to increase our speed," he said.

"Okay, thanks. Estimated arrival at eleven-hundred-thirty-five, Eastern standard time."

The plane leveled out above the clouds.


	2. Chapter 2

"Sir."

"What's up, Jarvis?"

"Captain Rogers has arrived in the parking garage."

"Sweet. Nine-fifty-nine." Tony flicked Steve's counter off the screen. "Right on time. Bring him up to the party deck, Jarvis."

"Yes, sir."

With a quick glance across the map, Tony made a grabbing motion at the screens and pointed at his phone. The maps miniaturized and appeared on the phone screen. He kept a close eye on the various moving dots as he headed into the elevator and dropped down onto the bench. He held his phone up and the maps projected in front of him. Pepper's jet turned white.

"Good. She's in the air," he sighed.

The elevator dinged. He flicked the screens away as he jogged to the bar. As the elevator dinged again, he grabbed a second glass.

"Tony, what's going on? Where's Arriana?" Steve exploded out of the elevator. He screeched to a halt when his own words reached his ears. "I mean, where is everyone?"

A wry smile lifted the corner of Tony's mouth. He took a long drink from his glass. "That's what daddy needs," he sighed. He held the second out to Steve.

Steve rolled his eyes. "Where is everyone?" he asked again, taking the glass and draining it without thought.

Tony pulled out his phone again and tossed the projection onto the large windows looking out over New York. He peered at it for a moment.

"The triplets are just leaving home. They had to stop to pick up their pets and Loki." He gave a wry chuckle. "So... all their pets. And Banner is minutes away from the airport. The plane is ready to go the second he's on it."

Steve froze. "What did you say?"

Tony frowned. "Triplets headed for airport. Banner almost to airport. What didn't compute?"

Steve's features hardened. "You said Loki."

Tony winced. "Oops."

"Oops what, Stark?"

"Whoa, whoa, calm down, Cap. I'll explain..." He turned to keep facing Steve as he walked back to the bar. "Since I did let the cat out of the bag. Or the megalomaniac god-king, as the case may be."

Steve crossed his arms over his broad chest. "Talk fast, Stark."

"Need another drink?" Steve didn't answer. "No drink? You sure?"

"Stark."

"Okay, long story short, the triplets accidentally tangled their brains with Loki's when he was on the Helicarrier. Thor took him back, yada, yada... He was being beaten and starved and, not knowing what he was doing, sort of contacted the triplets. They talked, got the story out of him. We decided to bust him out of jail. So they've been keeping him with them to... rehabilitate him. Sort of." He poured himself another drink.

"We decided? I don't recall that discussion."

"Time was of the essence, Cap. The triplets and I just made a decision." He took another swallow of scotch. "And sort of Thor. But we'd already decided before we called Thor. He was just the chauffeur."

"You broke a known criminal out of prison..."

"Well, not me personally."

"And brought him back to the exact place he attacked..."

"Wasn't even here for two weeks."

"Killing thousands of people..."

"Technically that was the aliens."

"And letting him go off with Arriana..."

"And Lizzy and Michael. But you keep forgetting them." Tony grinned. "For some reason."

Though his face still icy, Steve's cheeks warmed.

"Oh, and on that note, you should know they're together."

"Arriana and Loki?" His voice caught.

"Yeah," Tony winced. "Well, all of them actually."

Steve frowned. "I thought Michael was homosexual."

"Oh he is. They're all with Loki." Tony watched him for a moment. "They're each in love with him, and he's in love with each of them. It's called polyamory."

The frown didn't clear. "Oh, I... I didn't know that was allowed. I mean, I guess... nowadays..." He trailed off.

"Not really. It's not legal to marry more than one person. And it's not the norm." Tony's brain finally realized Steve was thinking he no longer had a chance with Arriana. "But the triplets aren't the norm. They're different than most people. They love more. So she still, you know, cares about you."

"I'm sure she does. Arriana's a wonderful friend." He swallowed thickly and turned back to the maps, forcing his mind into battle mode again. "What are their ETAs?"

"Whoa there, Captain Heartbreak. Don't jump to conclusions. She wasn't just yanking your chain."

"We're friends, Stark. That's all."

"Oh, fuck you, Rogers." Tony stepped in front of him. "You think she gave up time with Lizzy and Michael- slept with you-"

"It's called 'friends with benefits', Stark. I would think you'd be familiar with the term." Steve folded his arms and stood to his full height.

"I thought you were smarter than this. You love her and she has the right to know, Rogers."

"She's found a man she loves, and if she loves him then he must be good."

Jarvis's calm voice interrupted them. "Dr. Banner's plane is in the air, sir."

"Thank you, Jarvis," Tony said, breathing heavily as he glared back at Steve. "Look, Steve. I'm not going to tell you her business. But I have known Arriana since she was fourteen years old, and one thing that I have always known is that she is not the usual. Neither are Lizzy or Michael. They don't just love like everyone else. They love more, much more. If ever there were people who could completely and truly love more than one person, it's them. The girls have been happy with Loki, but there's something wrong. It's like they're missing something."

"What are you talking about, Stark?"

"I talked with Loki just the other night. He's concerned. He knows they love him and need him, but he said they're missing something. Like they're missing half themselves."

"Just the girls?"

"Michael has been having a similar feeling, but not as intense." Tony watched him for a moment. "They're not really eating again. Loki's been trying to get them to eat. It takes a lot of begging and it's still not enough."

"What are you talking about?"

"What if she's still in love with you, Rogers? What if she needs you?"

"She. Has. Loki." Steve enunciated every word.

"What if she needs both? Do you love her enough to share her?"

"She's with Loki." His voice rose.

Tony lifted a brow. "You don't really love her, do you?" He stepped forward, pushing into Steve's personal space. "You just wanted to bang her."

"Shut up, Stark." Steve's hands sprang to his sides and his stance spread.

"Do you love her?" Tony pushed.

"I said shut up!" Steve leaned forward.

"Do you love her?" Tony barked.

"Yes!" he bellowed, "Alright?" Steve turned away, trying to think of anything other than Arriana in another man's arms.

Tony moved in front of him again. "Then tell her."

"I'm not going to steal another man's girl," Steve spat back, veering away again.

"She's not his property. Loki knows she needs more." He stayed in front of Steve. "He understands. They all share him and know he loves them all equally. That he couldn't live without all three of them." Tony dropped his voice, panting slightly. "He understands. And he loves her enough to be happy to share her if someone else comes along that fills that need in her."

Steve stopped, gripping the back of a chair. "Drop it, Stark."

"I'll drop it for the moment, but I'm not letting it go. She deserves to know." He turned back to the maps. "You never know. She might love you. She might be pining for you. I'd hate to see her suffer because you're too stubborn to talk to her." He silently let a breath slide out. "Where are we at, J?"

"I just received transmission, sir. The triplets are taking off as we speak. Ms. Potts' jet is ten minutes out."

"Has Happy left?"

"Yes, sir. He left exactly ten and a half minutes ago."

"Good. Give me the city's mainframe. I'm going to clear some traffic for him." Another screen popped up at the DJ station that stood near the bar. Tony pulled a chair over. A holographic keyboard appeared on the desktop and he began tapping away.

Steve watched for a moment as screens flicked passed with the speed of Tony's fingers. Shaking his head, he turned his attention back to the giant map on the window. I'll never get used to this. He sighed silently. It might as well be magic. His eyes fixed on the white plane icon that showed the indigo, yellow, green-and-black, and pink dots trailing along with it.

He couldn't dislodge the lump stuck in his throat. She's in love with another man. Did you really think a woman like her would fall in love with you? It's not like any woman has ever been interested. Cold trickled down his back, creeping over his body.

You won't be alone. The velvet voice wove through his mind.

His arms stiffened. I've got to put it in the water.

"Rogers," Tony's voice broke through a moment before a wave of warm water hit him in the face.

Steve gasped for air. "What's... what's going on? Where am I?"

Tony put a hand on his shoulder. "Relax, Cap. You're in Stark Tower. Arriana and company are on their way."

Steve fought to drag air into his lungs as his chest tightened. His fists clenched until the muscles throbbed. "What happened?"

"Probably a flashback." Tony clapped him on the shoulder and then headed for the bar. "J, take the temp up five degrees."

"Yes, sir." The sound of soft rushing air permeated the room.

Steve glanced down at his soaked shirt. A shiver raced over him. "Oh, uh..." As the cold fabric touched his skin, he jolted and pulled the shirt off. "Do you have another shirt, Stark? I didn't bring any clothes."

"Oh, yeah. Come on. I'll show you your floor." He tapped a few more times on the invisible keyboard, and then mimed grabbing the screens. They disappeared as Tony slid his phone into his pocket.

Steve shook his head. "I'll never get used to your technology."

"Most people would never get used to my technology," Tony said as he led the way to the elevator.

"Wait, what did you mean by 'my floor'?"

"Your floor. The floor that is yours." Tony shrugged. "I wouldn't think that would be a riddle to you."

With another shake of his head, Steve waited to ask further questions until they arrived at whatever Tony was talking about.

"Captain Rogers' floor," Jarvis said as the doors opened.

"Whoa, snazzy pad." Steve's eyes swept over the dark marble floor and the Chrysler building-style, white marble columns.

Tony gave a shrill whistle. "He likes it so much he snapped back to the 20s."

Steve chuckled. "Well, people still talked like that in the 40s, which, for me... was just a few months ago."

Tony's mouth stretched with a sharp intake of breath. "Fair." He swept his arm in front of them. "Welcome home."

Tony paced back and forth in front of the elevator doors.

"Tony!" Pepper called as the elevator dinged.

He spun around. "Pepper!" He pulled her into his arms as she raced toward him. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Tony. What's going on?" She studied his eyes for a moment, and then wrapped her arms around his neck again.

"I don't know," Tony sighed as he held her tight against him. "The triplets called me this morning and said Fury called them with the seven-eight code. I've scrambled everyone to get here as fast as possible." He glanced over her shoulder. "Thanks, Happy."

"You're welcome, sir."

"Any trouble?"

"Just a jam on the Midtown tunnel, as usual, sir," Happy said with a chuckle.

"Good."

"Is everyone else okay?" Pepper asked.

"So far." Tony moved back over to the windows and flicked the screens from his phone. "Rogers is already here. Banner's in the air, but not due to land until almost ten. Romanoff and Barton aren't due to land until seven, seven-thirty tonight."

"And the triplets?"

"They're on schedule to land in about an hour. "

"Will you need me to go get anyone else, Mr. Stark?" Happy asked.

"Just Banner. The triplets, and Barton and Romanoff can drive themselves just fine."

"Should we call Thor?" Pepper asked.

"Signal's on. We don't technically need Hammerhead, but he should at least know so he doesn't accidentally drop in at SHIELD to say hi and get himself killed."

Pepper nodded and leaned into him. "I'm glad we got the renovations done so quickly."

"This is exactly why I got them done as fast as possible. I was afraid it wouldn't be long before the Council decided they wanted to remove the thorns in their side. I'm just hoping we're far enough ahead of them."

"Me too. Do you think we have enough food in case this goes on a while?"

"Jarvis, did last week's shipment come in?"

"Yes, sir. My calculations indicate there is enough food currently in the tower to safely sustain twelve people, two cats, and a dog for approximately eight years, assuming continued yields from the greenhouses."

"Let's make that a round ten years, Jarvis. Get me a rush order. I want every box checked and inside the doors before 9pm tonight."

"Yes, sir."

"Normally, I'd say that's overkill, Tony, but..." Pepper shrugged against him. "Considering the circumstances..."

"I don't want to leave anything to chance."

"I agree. The triplets are bringing Loki, right?"

"Yep."

"You need to make sure you warn everyone not to kill him before they arrive."

"Yeah, I sort of accidentally let the cat out of the bag with Rogers."

"Just don't tell him that the triplets are involved with Loki. Otherwise he'll think he doesn't have a chance with Arriana anymore."

"Oops." Tony winced at her. "Too late for that."

She groaned. "Tony!"

"Well, he was going to figure it out when they got here and Loki was kissing all up and down the three of them." He moved back over to the DJ station and tossed the screens up in front of him. "Besides it doesn't mean she doesn't want to be with him anymore."

"I know that, but he's from the 1940s, Tony. When a girl is romantic with another man, that usually means that girl is off limits."

"So?"

"So!" She planted her hands on her hips. "Tony, Arriana is in love with him. He's not going to go for polyamory. He's from the 1940s."

"You keep saying that. The guy took the Civil Rights movement, Women's Lib, and Gay Pride all in stride. He's a male unicorn. I've already been talking to him. He'll get past his super restrictive traditional values crap."

Pepper rolled her eyes but didn't bother arguing further. "I'm going to go change. Let me know if anything happens or anyone gets here."

"Got it, gorgeous. Go relax." He kissed her and then turned back to the screens. "You too, Happy. Jarvis will let you know when you need to leave or if anything happens."

"Yes, Mr. Stark." Happy stepped onto the elevator.

"Will that be all, Mr. Stark?" Pepper whispered in his ear.

Tony groaned and spun around. Pulling her to him, he devoured her mouth. He pulled her lithe form against him as hard as he could. His tongue slipped between her lips, tasting the depths of her mouth. She melted against him with a soft whimper. He finally released her.

"God, I'm glad you're okay," he sighed, leaning his forehead against hers.

"I'm glad you weren't out."

"I was exactly where you'd left me yesterday," he said with a chuckle.

"Under a car?" She shook her head, smiling at him.

"Well, I'd rather be under you, but you weren't in."

"Tony," she giggled.

He kissed her for another moment and finally released her. "That'll be all, Ms. Potts."

She gave him a wink, and headed to the elevator.

Tony stood watching her go with a wicked smile and a quirk to his brow as dirty thoughts wandered through his mind. "Well, I know what to do with the extra time while we're on lockdown," he mumbled to himself as the elevator doors closed. Shaking his head, he turned back to the maps. "Now, what ya got for me, SHIELD?" He began tapping away again. "You didn't think I'd let you clear out my hack virus that easily, did you?"

Time ticked passed as Tony tapped away. Screen after screen flicked past. "Now what is this?" He peered closer. "Oh, no you didn't, Fury. I swear on your eye patch, if this is what I think it is, I might actually kill you." He clicked through a few different screens, waiting a moment or two here and there as his software opened secure files. "And you'll be so lucky for me to kill you. The triplets will make you wish you were dead."

"Sir, the triplets have landed and are transferring into the secure SUV as we speak."

He looked up. The various counters had moved accordingly while he'd been working. "Good. Let Pepper and Rogers know. Is their apartment ready?"

"I have already alerted Ms. Potts and Captain Rogers, and have already had their apartment in the readying stages. All will be completed within the next ten minutes."

"Thank you, Jarvis. Let me know the second they get here." He copied a few files and began searching through yet more information.


	3. Chapter 3

"Sir," Jarvis's voice broke through Tony's thoughts, though his fingers kept moving, "Mr. Thor has arrived on the roof."

"Is he coming in?" He didn't bother glancing away from the screens.

"I have directed him into the elevator, sir."

"Thank you, J. Ask Rogers to come up here."

"Yes, sir."

Tony spun away from the desk. He grabbed his glass and was pouring himself another scotch when the elevator opened.

"Man of Iron!"

He rolled his eyes. "Not my name, Thor. We've been over this."

"Yes, of course. My apologies, Friend Stark."

Another eyeroll. "Eh, close enough."

"You called?"

"Yeah. We've got a situation."

"Hmm... That is terrible news. Things are not well on Asgard either."

A wry smile quirked Tony's mouth. "Oh, what's wrong in paradise?"

"Loki has escaped, and the All-Father is angry beyond reason. I fear what will happen if he is not found soon."

Tony snorted. "They really did a number on you."

Thor frowned. "Who? Did... what to me?"

"The triplets."

The elevator dinged. "Stark..." Steve hurried over. "Thor, I'm glad you're here."

"I'm glad to see you well, Captain. Friend Stark was just about to inform me of the current trouble."

"Yeah," Steve glanced at Tony, and then looked back at Thor, "and what's the big idea letting your brother escape and not telling the rest of us?"

Tony grimaced. "Damn it."

"What is this?" Thor looked between them. "You know my brother's location?"

"Apparently–"

"Shut up!" Tony hissed.

Steve and Thor looked at him.

He heaved a sigh. "Long story short: triplets' brains got tangled with Loki's while he was on the Helicarrier. When you took him back to Asgard, they started basically torturing him, his mind reached out and found the triplets. Once they realized it was him and got the whole story, they decided to bust him out of prison. We called you, Thor, and you brought them to Asgard – it should all be coming back to you shortly – they stayed for a while as ambassadors and then hid in your rooms, busted him out during a feast thing and he magicked them all back here. They stayed here about 10 days to rehab him after the beat down he'd gotten, and then took him home with them. Also they're sort of all in love with Loki and he's in love with them."

Thor looked confused for a moment and then his eyes widened. "How could I possibly have forgotten that?"

"The triplets buried it in the back of your mind so you couldn't be accused of doing anything," Tony said with a dismissive wave of his hand. "There's a lot more info where Loki's concerned. The triplets will be better able to explain, but he's not as evil as we think. He's been with the triplets for a couple weeks and everything's been fine. He's actually been really sweet with them, and is taking good care of them. So at very least," Tony looked between them, "don't attack him when they get here. Let them explain."

Thor frowned for a moment, but nodded. "Now what is this trouble you have called me here for?"

Tony glanced at Steve, who looked away. He shook his head and headed to the windows which still showed the maps and everyone's progress. Another red and silver dot had appeared at Stark Tower.

"I've called all the Avengers to the tower. The triplets got a call this morning from Fury, calling the seven-eight code."

"Seven-eight, but that is the code signifying SHIELD's intent to harm us," Thor said, frowning at the map.

"Yeah, that's why I turned on the signal. We wanted to make sure you at least knew. That way SHIELD couldn't trick you to come down and use you against us. You wouldn't have to stay since this doesn't directly involve you."

"Nonsense, you are my friends. I will not leave you to fight this battle alone. Now that I understand what happened with Loki it is best if I remain to speak with him before I return home. Is he intended to remain on your planet?"

"For now, yeah. He'll stay with the triplets. At least until SHIELD finds out. Then I don't really want to think what will happen."

Steve stood stoically nearby. His gaze snapped to Tony. "What do you mean?"

Tony turned to look at him. "Their minds are connected. What one experiences, they all experience, at least to a point. We don't really know what that means as far as death, but... we know what it means for torture." His face grew dark remembering the missions that had gone wrong. It wasn't common, but things happened from time to time.

"When are they due to arrive?" Thor asked.

"Any minute now," Tony said, glancing at his watch. "Jarvis, where're they at?"

"They are turning onto Park Ave, as we speak, sir."

"Thank you. Tell them it's safe to bring Loki up with them when they get here."

"Yes, sir."

"Is their apartment ready?"

"Yes, sir."

"Good. They can take the time to stop and drop off the pets if they want, there's no rush."

"Yes, sir. I will let them know."

Tony turned back to the map when Jarvis's voice sounded in the room again.

"The triplets have arrived in Stark Tower, sir. I have informed Ms Potts."

"Thank you, J."

The doors opened and the triplets stepped out.

You're sure you're cloaked, Loki? Lizzy asked in their minds.

Yes, my darling. He ran his hands over their backs.

The three men were standing in conversation, a world map splashed over the windows behind them.

Ready? Michael asked.

Arriana's heart stopped the moment she saw Steve, and at once she felt joy and pain fill her. She ran her hand over her chest. Loki squeezed her shoulder.

Go hug your captain, he said in her mind.

He's not my captain.

You never know, but he is your friend. Now go hug him. You want to.

Tony spotted them and grinned. "There you three are."

Steve's face lit up when his eyes settled on her. "Arriana!" He started toward her, but then stopped.

Loki nudged Arriana. The frown that clouded Steve's eyes moved her. She ran to him, a wide smile on her face. His eyes cleared, his beautiful grin in place as he opened his arms and scooped her up.

"God, I missed you." He breathed in her delicate scent, feeling how perfectly she fit against him.

"I missed you, too." She buried her face in his neck. He lifted her so easily and held her so tightly. Tears squeezed from beneath her lids.

He gently set her down, and suddenly neither knew what to do.

Arriana wrapped her arms around herself. "How have you been?"

"Oh, uh, alright." His smile was a little tight, and he shoved his hands in his pockets. "How are you?"

"I'm fine."

"That's good... that's good." He pushed non-existent dirt around with his toe. "Oh, uh, thanks for my apartment... thing, here."

"Did Tony show you?" Light leaped into her eyes again. "I was hoping you'd like it. I mean, it wasn't all me, but I got to help."

"Yeah, it's..." He sighed. "It's beautiful." He couldn't take his eyes off her. She was everything he wanted, right in front of him.

Tony had shoved Thor over toward Michael and Lizzy, hoping Steve would impulsively spout his love to Arriana.

"How was the flight?" Tony asked, hugging them.

"Just fine," Michael said. "Arriana drove the tower nuts."

"Really?"

"New guy," Lizzy said. "Ed had to take over when she started the descent."

"Did she take the big slide again?"

"Oh, yeah," Michael chuckled.

"I love when she takes the big slide."

"What is 'the big slide'?" Thor asked. He gave them each a nod. "Greetings, friend Michael, friend Lizzy."

They internally rolled their eyes, but said nothing since he meant no harm.

"Arri's really good at making steep take-offs and landings," Lizzy said. "She made a steep landing."

"Ah, I see," he said, though Lizzy knew he did not see. "I'm fairly good at steep landings myself," he chuckled.

They forced a smile, but no one in the room felt much like laughing at the moment.

"How was Bruce when you talked to him, Tony?" Lizzy asked.

"Nervous." Tony grinned and hugged her. "Actually, he'd just been working on some poor bastard, so he was fairly calm."

"A little adrenaline does calm him down."

"So I heard." Tony gave her a wink.

With an eyeroll, she jabbed him in the side with her elbow. "Don't you tease him." A small smile forced up the corners of her mouth. "Besides, it was good for him."

"That is always good for everyone." Tony pulled her over to the map with Michael following. "He's here..." Tony pointed to the green dot.

"He's not going to appreciate that you made his signal green," Lizzy said.

He shrugged.

Loki gave her a wink. I'm going to go listen in on Arriana's conversation.

I would argue more, Michael said, but I want to know how things are going too.

Pressing a kiss to the back of Michael's head, Loki slipped away from them.

"So how has your side been?" Steve asked.

Arriana frowned. "My side?"

"Yeah, after the battle." His blond brows pinched. "You were injured."

"Oh, my side." She waved aside the thought. "Yeah. I'm fine."

"Maybe Dr. Banner should take a look at it when he gets here."

She shrugged. "He probably will whether I think I need to or not, but it wouldn't hurt. He'll probably check Lizzy and Michael's injuries too." Her curtain of golden-red hair fell forward.

Before he could stop himself, Steve reached out and tucked the soft locks behind her ear.

Warm tingles shuddered through her body and she reached for his hand, but recognition sprang to life in his eyes and he pulled his hand back.

"Sorry," he mumbled.

"Oh, uh, it's fine." She dug a toe into the rug. "How are your injuries? I mean, I know... they were better... by the time I left, but, uh... have they..." She fumbled for words. "Have they given you any more trouble?"

"No," he said, "no, they've been fine."

"That's good."

They fell silent again. Arriana's eyes flicked over Steve's shoulder where Loki prowled, watching and listening. Tell him, he said in her mind.

No. She gave him a fleeting glare.

"You okay?" Steve asked. He glanced over his shoulder. Loki stood invisible, waving ridiculously at him. "Did you see something on the map?"

"Oh, no." Arriana waved the concern aside. "I... I thought I saw something outside. Sorry."

"No need to apologize. We need to be on high alert right now." The thought shook the cobwebs of love loose. He turned to study the map. "What's the ETA on Barton, Romanoff, and Banner?"

"Hmm?" Tony glanced up from arguing with Lizzy about Bruce while Michael distracted Thor. "Oh, Jarvis will let us know when they're in range."

"Stark, we need to know where they are. They're targets too, and–"

Arriana put a hand on his arm.

"And now that I can get a word in," Tony said, rolling his eyes. "I am monitoring them, Rogers. I know exactly where they are within 25 feet. And last I checked, sitting here wringing my hands won't get them home any faster or safer. Jarvis is watching everything. He'll alert us if anything changes. So much as a traffic jam."

Lizzy put a hand on Tony's back as his voice rose a notch.

"We should be suited up and ready to go in case anything happens," Steve said.

"Stealth is not your strong suit, Spangles. Leave this to the professionals."

Steve stepped forward and Loki darted out of the soon-to-be-battleground.

"Oh, hang on!" Arriana leaped in front of Steve, planting her hands on his broad chest. "Tony is doing everything we can right now. While we're all targets, the fact that Directory Fury called us, tells me we were the first targets. Which means, there should be time to pull everyone back."

"The captain is right," Thor said. "This means war. We should ready ourselves." He lifted his arm and a moment later his hammer flew from the far end of the room, flying straight at Loki. He dropped to the floor to avoid catching it with his face.

The triplets gasped and jolted toward the spot where he lay on the floor.

Tony frowned for a moment, and then nodded, taking a drink. He leaned down to Lizzy, and whispered, "I'm assuming since I didn't hear any cry of pain that our resident megalomaniac is fine."

She nodded.

Steve frowned, looking between the three and Mjolnir. He followed Arriana's gaze to a blank space on the floor. She let out a sigh and turned back to him. He watched her for a moment before it dawned on him.

"Is he here?" he asked her.

Her gaze leaped up to his for a moment. Cheeks warming, she looked away, not able to look into his eyes as a jumbled concoction of emotions swirled and boiled through her.

"Is who here?" Thor asked.

The triplets all instinctively looked to Tony.

"We're good, Point Break. Chill."

Thor's usually cheerful air clouded. "Loki?" He pounced on the spot they had been looking.

Loki leaped out of the way a moment before Thor's hand closed on him.

"I know you're there, Loki," Thor roared. His tree trunk arm swiped through the air, the other wielding Mjolnir.

Loki jumped and darted out of the way again and again, nearly being hit by the hammer several times.

The triplets leaped forward, putting their hands up. The hammer came down against the invisible wall in front of Loki. Rainbow-colored lightning cracked through the room with a wave of hot air.

Tony's breath caught for a moment, his hand leaping to his chest as he overbalanced. Steve jumped forward and caught him.

Lights flickered. "System malfunction," Jarvis said.

With a painful jolt, Tony started panting.

"What the hell just happened, Stark?" Steve asked, pushing him upright again.

Tony frowned as he looked around. The map flickered with the lights. Tony shook himself and groaned. "Good job, Point Break." He moved back over to the DJ station, staggering slightly, and tossed up several screens. "Give me a damage readout, Jarvis."

"Loki is here," Thor roared.

"I told you that before." Tony shot a glare across the room. "Everybody knock it off until I get Jarvis back online. We're flying blind without him."

Thor frowned for a moment. "You told me... what did you tell me?"

Tony rolled his eyes. "Not now." Steve opened his mouth. "You too, Spangles. Do you three want to try to sort out Thunderhead while I fix J?"

The triplets turned back to Thor.

"Keep his attention and I'll unlock the wall," Lizzy said and grabbed Thor's wrist.

"What are you doing?" He started to pull his arm away. He frowned slightly. Lizzy dove into his mind, weaving and winding her way through more easily than the last time.

"Thor," Michael barked. Thor looked at him curiously. "You can't just swing that thing around in an enclosed area. You could kill someone."

Jarvis's voice crackled slightly as he spoke. "A power surge of 18.6 gigajoules has shocked my operating system, sir."

"Run rapid systems check, J. Move to emergency mode and force manual lock down," Tony said, he rubbed his chest again. "I thought we could take in that much power and redirect."

"You were in no danger," Thor said calmly with a frown. "I would not harm you."

"One, you were trying to harm someone," Micheal said, "so if you'd hit someone with the hammer, harm would have happened."

When Thor started to speak, Arriana held up her hand.

"I have met your mother, and I know she would not approve of you whipping that thing around inside." He clapped his mouth shut. "That's better."

"And two," Michael continued, "there is such a thing as an accident. It means you didn't mean to do the thing, but that doesn't stop the thing from happening."

"But if Loki is here..."

"Do you see damage and destruction?" Arriana asked, her head swaying dangerously like a cobra. "Other than what you caused with your hammer, there is nothing going on that has anything to do with Loki. So whether he is here or not, doesn't affect anything."

"Sir," Jarvis's voice crackled harshly, "the direct power... surge does... not appear to... be the problem."

"Shit, stay with me, J. Have we overcharged and hit the Arc Reactor? Readouts look fine. Magnetic field intensity looks good. Show me the flux density."

"Arc reactor... operational..."

"Jarvis, give me the data," Tony barked, turning and throwing screens all around him. He spun around, his eyes flicking back and forth through the scrolling numbers.

"But... but Loki..." Thor mumbled.

"There it is," Lizzy mumbled. "Timber." She pulled the proverbial pin holding the wall in Thor's mind together.

The memories of helping them break Loki out of prison rushed forward. With a giggle of a head rush, Lizzy allowed herself to be swept out of his mind with the force of the rushing memories.

Thor shook his head. "What... what has happened?"

"Tony, what's going on?" Steve asked.

"Not now, Steve," Tony hissed. His face grew pale, sweat beading his forehead. "If Jarvis goes offline we're sitting ducks, and Bruce goes down in that plane."

"What?" Lizzy spun around with a shriek.

"Triplets, get over here and check the data. I need to find the problem."

They rushed over, taking positions in front of scrolling screens, stances wide and hands clasped behind their backs as their eyes began to race over the numbers and letters.

"What are we looking for, sir?" Michael asked.

"Anything, get me anything. Code errors, frayed wires, broken light bulbs for god's sake."

"Excuse me, Dr. Banner," came a tense female voice.

He jolted upright as the world lurched. "What's going on?" His heart thudded against his ribs and his head rushed, throbbing as the beast rattled his cage. The plane lurched.

"We seem to have a system malfunction." The flight attendant stood at the door of the cabin. "The pilot is currently flying blind and we are trying to get in contact with Mr. Stark. Please secure the five point safety harness in your seat."

Thoughts flying through his mind, he grabbed the belts on either side of him. "What... what's going on?"

"We've had a major system failure," she said again. "Secure your harness. It is a parachute, expandable flotation device, and contains a month's worth of water filtration and basic nutrition needs."

He frowned again, but obediently buckled his harness. "I don't think this is going to help."

The plane pitched to the right and lurched again. And so did Bruce's heart as pain spread across his body.

"No."


	4. Chapter 4

"I'm not seeing any coding errors, sir," Lizzy called out. "Code is intact."

"All hardware seems intact other than minor surge damage, sir," Michael said.

"Arc reactor readouts show normal power production and..." Arriana frowned. "And rotation rate?"

"What's the rate, Carebear?" Tony panted.

"Sir, system... crit... ical... mal... func... tion." Jarvis's voice flickered.

Loki took the opportunity of the chaos to move away from Thor, hurrying to stand behind the triplets, glancing over the floods of data streaming past their eyes.

Tony's hand went to his chest again and he braced himself on the desk.

Steve moved closer. "Stark, are you alright?"

"I'm fine, Spangles." His breathing grew more labored by the moment.

Loki looked between the data and Tony.

Steve and Tony jumped as he suddenly appeared in their midst.

"It's affecting both Stark and his systems. What is that thing that powers his suit?" he asked.

"Loki!" Thor barked.

"Shut up!" everyone yelled.

Arriana spun around, stared at Tony for a moment, and then back at the arc reactor readouts. "The arc reactor," she squealed. "It's electromagnetic and so are we!"

"So what?" Lizzy asked. "He charges us up, we've never hurt him before."

"And Thor's lightning charges him up," Michael said.

"No," Loki said, "the two combined."

Arriana gasped. "We flipped the rotation! Oh my god!"

"What?" the other two cried.

"We reversed the polarity of the electromagnets in the tower! The two arc reactors."

"Two?" Steve said. "I thought there was just one thing powering this tower."

"The other powers Tony," Michael said. He turned and grabbed Tony's shirt to open it.

"Don't rip this shirt," Tony panted. "It's vintage."

Michael rolled his eyes and yanked Tony's shirt over his head. The normally glowing orb in his chest flickered.

"What do we do, Tony?" Arriana asked. "We don't know how to fix your arc reactors."

"I... I don't know." Tony leaned hard against the desk.

"Do it again," Loki said.

"What?" The triplets spun to look at him.

"Do it again." He gave them a nod, holding their gaze. "Once changed it, twice should change it back."

"You're right." Arriana grabbed Michael and Lizzy and dragged them back over to Thor. "Thor, hit us with your hammer."

"No, I would never harm you."

"Hit us, damn it," Arriana shrieked, glancing at Tony.

Steve sprang forward and caught him before he slid to the floor.

Arriana turned to yell again, but Lizzy held up a hand.

"Leave it to the professional." She turned to Thor. "It's not my fault that your mother likes to fuck everything so hard that her son came out a thunderdolt."

The gasp from Loki was drowned out by the roar from Thor as he raised his hammer. They put their hands up. Loki shot forward, appearing behind them, his knives out.

The hammer slammed down on their invisible shield once more and a rainbow exploded through the room with a thundering crack and blazing heat.

Tony gasped, grabbing his chest again.

"All systems operational," Jarvis said in his usual calm voice.

Color came back into Tony's face.

"My triplets," he coughed out.

Steve pulled him to his feet and then moved out from behind the haze of screens.

The triplets lay in a tumbled heap on the floor, and Loki's knives were locked with Mjolnir.

"You want to pick a fight with someone, you do it with me," Loki growled. "Never... lay... a … hand... on... them... again!" With a roar, he forced Thor tumbling backward.

Thor stayed where he was, stunned into silence.

Loki spun around and knelt among the triplets. "My darlings, are you alright?" He pulled them to him, kissing them gently and clutching them to his chest. "Don't ever scare me like that again."

"We had to," Michael panted.

"I meant the first time," he said, kissing their heads. "It's not the first time I've taken a blow from Thor's hammer. I'll be fine."

"It's not right," Arriana chirped. "He shouldn't hit you."

He hugged her to him. "Never mind, darling. Are you hurt?"

"No," Lizzy said. "We're just shaken. That was, admittedly, a hell of a hit."

He breathed a sigh of relief. "I can't lose you. You know that."

"We're sorry, sweetheart."

They cuddled up to him.

Tony glanced at Steve. "You're really not going to listen to me now, are you?"

"Drop it, Stark."

With the roll of his eyes, he spun back to his screens. "Shit. J, give me a full status report and get me the pilot."

"Yes, sir."

Tony's fingers flew on his keyboard and he pulled and tossed things from the screens faster than a card-wielding magician.

"Is Bruce okay?" Lizzy called.

Loki helped her to her feet and nudged her toward the screens.

"Are you okay, Arriana?" Steve asked, hurrying over.

"I'm fine. Just shaky."

"What's going on?" Thor asked, still sitting on the floor.

Loki rolled his eyes, putting Tony's skills to shame. "Thor, you idiot. She insulted your mother to get you to swing your hammer. She didn't mean it."

"Yeah, didn't mean it, sweetie," Lizzy called distractedly. "I love your mother. She's amazing."

Thor blinked for a moment, and then turned his gaze back to Loki and frowned. "How... how are you here?"

"Seriously?" Michael asked as Loki helped him up. "We pulled down that wall in your brain."

"Use your head, Thor," Loki sneered. "You brought them to Asgard to rescue me."

He frowned for another moment. Leaping to his feet, he cried, "Brother!" A wide grin spread across his face and he wrapped his arms around Loki, who made no movement.

The next moment he cried out and leaped back, a knife sticking out of his side.

"Oops," Loki said. "It slipped." Shaking his head, he pulled Michael to stand by Lizzy, putting an arm around them both and keeping eyes on Arriana as she stood with Steve.

"Do you need to sit down?" Steve asked.

"No, I'm okay." She smiled up at him. "Come on, let's make sure everyone's okay."

"Oh, right." He shook himself and then joined the others at the screens.

"Everything is now operational, sir," Jarvis said. "The arc reactors are both rotating correctly and steadily, power is back to normal at 8 gigajoules per second and 80 gigajoules per second respectively. And I have the pilot for you, sir."

"Thank you, Jarvis." Tony took a long drink from the glass Steve set down and instantly spit it back out. "Blech, what is this?" He frowned up at Steve.

"Water," he said, a brow quirked on his sardonic face. "It's water, Tony."

Tony shuddered. "Ugh. What, are you trying to poison me?" He chuckled.

"Tony, what's going on?" Pepper hurried off the elevator.

"You okay, Pep?" He tossed aside one of the screens so he could see her.

"Yeah, what was going on with the power? Is everything alright?" She screeched to a halt. "Are you alright, Tony? You look sick."

He chuckled. "Always so liberal with the compliments."

She planted a hand on her hip. "Tony, what is going on?"

He waved her concern aside. "Just a glitch. It's taken care of."

"Tony, I'm not buying it. Jarvis doesn't glitch."

"Thank you, ma'am," Jarvis said. "But I was experiencing technical difficulties."

"We just had a minor mishap, everything's under control." He held up a hand. "Stark 5 pilot, please go," he said.

"Mr. Stark, I've got instruments up, but we had a major system failure."

"I am aware of the failure and have rectified the problem. Should be smooth sailing from here on home. Report any damage or further issues immediately, and put me back to the cabin."

"Yes, sir."

"Good flying."

"Thank you, sir."

The connection beeped.

"You breathing, big man?" Tony asked.

"Stark." The growl came through gritted teeth.

"We gotcha, Bruce. Sorry for the scare, but everything's fine. You hear that, big guy. Everything's fine. There's no danger."

"You're okay, Brucey," Lizzy called over him. "Just keep breathing. I'm here and everything's safe."

"Lizzy?" His usual gentle voice was garbled with gravel.

"Lizzy, throw your mind," Arriana said.

"He's too far away."

"You reached me in another realm," Loki said. "She's right. You should be able to reach him."

"Here, tether yourself to us like I do," Michael said, holding out his hand. "And just reach for him."

She frowned for a moment, but took their hands with a nod. She slid down into the blackness of her mind and flung a figurative hand out, reaching out into the blackness. Bruce? Where are you, Bruce?

I'm here. His voice shook with pain and exertion. How... how are you...?

Never mind that. I'm here. She wrapped her mind around him. Everyone's okay. There's was a problem, but we've fixed it. Danger averted. She carefully slid through his mind for the rattling box and found it half open. Hey, big guy. Brucey's safe. I know we scared you, and I'm sorry, but he's safe now and would like you to go back to sleep.

A growl thundered through the back of his mind. Save.

You don't need to save him. There's no more danger.

Not danger?

Not danger. Everything's good now. Brucey needs rest. Can you please go back to sleep so he can rest?

No smash?

No smash. Not right now.

You stay?

Of course I'll stay with Brucey.

The growl quieted and the lid on the box slowly slid shut again. She watched it for a moment and then moved back into the normal areas of his mind.

Everything's okay. He's calmed down.

His voice trembled. Are... are you sure?

Yeah. He'll be okay. I'll stay with you through the rest of the flight.

That's... that's hours, Lizzy. And how are you doing this anyway?

Long story. I'll tell you when you get here.

It's still a long time. Maybe just... just stay until I fall asleep again. I'm... He sighed. I'm so exhausted.

I'm sure you are. You did great holding everything together, baby.

He gave a wry chuckle. I think it's more not breaking everything apart.

To-may-to, to-mah-to, she giggled. You're okay. I'll stay until you're asleep and check in on you until you're here.

Th-thanks.

Loki picked Lizzy up and settled her on his lap on a nearby couch while she talked with Bruce. He glanced up at Arriana and nodded toward Steve, but she pretended to be stupid and not know what he meant.

"Jarvis, check Tony's vitals, please," she said.

"Heart rate is steady, though elevated at 97 bpm. Blood pressure elevated at 130 over 90, at steady decline. Pulse ox steady at 99%."

"Is his heart okay?"

"Yes, ma'am. The shrapnel is stable and shows no signs of movement."

"Oh, thank gods. Thank you, Jarvis."

"My pleasure, ma'am."

"Please monitor at hourly intervals over the next 24 hours."

"Yes, ma'am."

"No, hey," Tony said, spinning around in his chair. "I didn't say monitor me."

"I apologize, sir, but my programming allows for an override to monitor your health by the triplets and Ms. Potts."

"I did not put that in your programming." He glared up at Arriana, who grinned at him.

"Whoops. Did we do a little reprogramming?"

He rolled his eyes. "Go cuddle with your boyfriend." He glanced at Michael, who grinned back at him too. "Both of you." Turning back to the screens, he surreptitiously took the hem of Pepper's shirt and tugged her over to sit on the arm of his chair.

She rolled her eyes, but leaned into him.

"I do not understand," Thor said, still sitting on the floor, looking between them.

"Join the club," Steve sighed.

Arriana's phone chirped. "Oh, shit!" she squeaked. "We forgot to call Cal."

Cal glanced up from the FBI threat-watch page he'd hacked into as the door opened. He tilted the screen toward the wall.

Gillian poked her head in. "Cal, did you get a chance to look over those consult requests I sent you this morning?"

"Oh, uh..." He looked around for a moment and then ran a hand over his face. "No, sorry, love. I... I haven't looked at them."

She came in with a frown, pushing the door shut behind her. "You haven't done any work, have you?"

Cal leaned his chin on his hand, looking up at her as she settled into a chair opposite him. "You look beautiful today. That dress must be new. I haven't seen if before."

"Nice try." She gave him a smile. "But you can't butter me up."

He chuckled, leaning harder on his hand. "I'm not, love." He grinned at her.

"So you haven't gotten anything done." She leveled a warm gaze at him.

"No, love, I haven't."

"What have you been doing, then?" She reached forward and turned his computer monitor toward her. "The FBI mainframe. Did you use Reynolds's ID again, Cal? He got in trouble last time."

"I know, but they changed it again. An' he's in the office so it won't be suspicious if he's checking the threat list." She frowned at him, but the small smile that played across her lips made him smile. "An' you know I'm right."

"Stop it, Cal. Now why are you checking the threat list?"

He sighed. "Lizzy, Michael, and Arriana had to leave suddenly this morning."

A frown pinched her brow. "Is everything alright?"

"I don't know." He ran a hand through his already-mussed hair. "They said their friend Nick called this morning and said there was something going on and they needed to go."

"Where did they go? Not New York, I hope."

"Course they went to New York." He gave a sharp snort. "Where else, but one of the biggest targets in the world and the one that was attacked by a billion aliens three and a half months ago."

"Why did they go to New York? Can't their friends come here?"

"I don't know." Cal thumped his head down on his desk. "I don't know. They said they were going to Tony's place cuz it's the safest place in the world."

She gave a soft laugh. "Maybe if it's Tony Stark, but I doubt even a nice building in New York City is safer than here."

"I don't know what's goin' on with them. I wish I did. I care about them. I don't want them to get hurt again."

"I know, Cal." She reached across the desk and squeezed his hand.

He clutched her hand. "I mean, god, it terrified me when I realized they were in New York. An' then they come home bleeding an' beaten to a pulp. I doubt the ruddy Avengers looked worse."

"I know, Cal, but they'll be okay. How often can aliens attack New York? After all they've never attacked before in known history, so it's unlikely anything like that will happen again."

"I know." He was quiet for a moment. "But I'm startin' to worry they're involved in something bigger."

"What do you mean?"

"The way they keep talkin' about their friends, but no one ever comes to visit them. An' they have to jump up an' go at a moment's notice. Like they're on-call for someone important."

She frowned, laughing softly. "What, you think they're involved with the mob or something?"

"Maybe. I know it sounds crazy." He clicked out of the FBI database. "I don't know. I know they were freaked out when they left, an' I know I'm worried."

"Well, after New York, I'm not surprised they were freaked out, Cal."

"Yeah, I suppose."

She gave his hand another squeeze. "They'll be alright, Cal. They've left a few times since New York and come back perfectly fine."

"I know." Cal slumped down on his desk again.

"And they weren't worried when they went to stay with their friends right after New York. Who did they stay with again?"

"Well, Bruce came to stay with Lizzy here. I met him. He's a bit of a headcase. I've never seen so much agony and anxiety flash across a human being's face."

"You said you talked to Lizzy about it, right?"

"Yeah, she told me to leave it alone. She an' her friends knew everything an' he was fine. He was talkin' to them an' to not push it." He groaned. "I'm gettin' really tired of bein' a good boy an' respectin' the line."

"I know, Cal, but it's important to them. They told you, if you push too much they have to leave."

"I know."

"Who did Michael and Arriana stay with again?"

Cal sighed and slumped back in his chair. "Michael stayed with Tony, an' Arriana went to stay with their new friend, Steve." He wrinkled his nose. "Bit of a nerdy name. Steve."

Gillian rolled her eyes. "From what Arriana said he's a bit of a babe."

"Nerds can be babes," Cal chuckled. "Look at me."

"I am." Gillian quirked a brow with a laugh.

Cal gave her a playful glare and crumpled up a piece of paper. He threw it at her and it landed in her lap. She laughed, and threw it back at him, whacking him square in the head.

"Oy," he laughed. He watched the radiant smile fill her face, crinkling the corners of her eyes. "You sure they'll be okay?"

Her laugh drifted into a sigh. "I don't know. Since a hoard of aliens showed up I don't think anyone is sure of anything."

He sighed. "They were so scared when they left."

"Life and death scared?"

He nodded. "An' that hunted look in their eyes. I don't know." He ran his hand through his hair again. "I'm just worried. They're like... I don't know. They're like m' kids. I just don't have all the memories of them as kids like I do with Emily."

Gillian smiled. "Except that when they jokingly call you daddy, your pupils expand."

"Yeah, that's that lack of memories of them being kids." He rolled his eyes. "I'm only a little more than a decade older than them. An' a blind man could tell they're gorgeous."

She laughed. "They are. I'm sure there is a lengthy trail of broken hearts behind them."

"They've never said anything about it though." Cal frowned. "An' they never date." He peered at her for a moment. "Don't you think that's odd. I mean, they're only twenty four. But they never talk about even goin' home with anyone."

"Well, they don't tend to share much personal information in the first place, Cal. Not all young people, or people in general, like to crow about sexual conquests."

"No, I know, but you never hear about old boyfriends or girlfriends. Nothin'. Just their few friends that all seem to live far away, an' are always busy."

"Most people are busy, Cal."

"Seems like it's more than usual though."

She got to her feet. "I think you're just being paranoid. You're just worried. They'll be fine."

"Probably." He slumped back in his chair again. "But they haven't called me."

"When did they leave?"

"Eight-thirty or so this morning."

She glanced at her watch. "Well, it's twelve-thirty. They should be in New York by now."

"I should call them." Cal grabbed his phone and started dialing.

Gillian reached over and took the phone from him. "Don't call them or they'll know how much you're worrying. Just text them, Cal." She smiled and headed for the door. "And look at those consultation requests, please."

"Yeah, I will, darlin'," he said distractedly. Cal stared at his phone for a minute. "What if somethin' happened to them an' that's why they haven't called?" He frowned and flipped on the news.

"... mass power outage in Manhattan only minutes ago, affecting over 4 million people. New York officials say power has been fully restored after the outage which lasted eighteen minutes – knocking out lights, shutting down subways, and stranding people in elevators across the entire city of Manhattan."

Cal shook his head. "What are the odds that's a coincidence?" He pulled out his phone. Hey, darling. Just checking in to make sure you're okay. Give me a call as soon as you can.

He rubbed his face and dropped into his chair. "God, please call soon."

"No official statement has been released as to what caused the outage. A spokesperson for the mayor of New York said they will ensure a complete investigation is conducted as to what caused the outage."

He stared at the screen for a moment, and then clicked back into the FBI threats list.


	5. Chapter 5

"I will... Bye." Arriana ended the call and slid the phone back into her pocket. "So Cal's worried as all hell and starting to sniff way too close to the truth."

"We should probably leave the Lightman Group," Lizzy said. "We never should have risked getting so close to him."

"I know." Arriana hugged herself.

"I'm not sure that's a good idea," Tony said from behind the holographic wall of information. "Lightman's the obsessive type. He'll try to track you down. And while I have no doubt that you're skilled enough to evade him, the last thing you need is him chasing you. It'll put him on SHIELD's radar for sure."

"Then what do we do, Tony?" Michael said.

"Distance is your friend at the moment. You can lie better over the phone and text than to his face. We'll brainstorm some good lies that are as close to the truth as we can get." He flicked a few screens away. "If we have to, we'll use his suspicions to our advantage. Let him think you're involved with the mob or something."

They groaned.

"Oh, yeah, that won't have him riding in on his proverbial white horse to save us," Lizzy said.

"Well, the only other option is to tell him the truth and swear him to secrecy."

"And hope he doesn't reject us on the mere fact that we're assassins and have killed loads of people," Arriana said a little bitterly.

Steve turned to look at her, but she immediately spun around, not able to bear his rejection for the same reason. He and Thor were the only ones in their group that didn't know, didn't understand the weight the rest of them carried. The weight of the thousands of dead.

The room seemed to dim around them.

Tony's head snapped up. "Jarvis, are we having problems again?"

"No, sir. There has been no change in physical surroundings."

"Right." He hopped up from his chair and jogged over to Arriana, taking her by the shoulders. "Hey, Carebear, deep breath. It's alright. You're depressing the air again," he chuckled. "Everything will work out."

"No it won't, Tony." Tears poured over, cascading down her cheeks.

"Hey," he cooed, pulling her against him. "It's okay, kiddo. This is just a bump in the road. We'll figure it out. We've been in hard places before." He pulled her back and lifted her chin. "I once thought it was over and nothing would get better, and then three little squirts stole a plane, crash landed it in my front yard, and said they were there to help." Tony cupped her face. "And you did help. I thought it was impossible, but you knew it wasn't. You knew I could figure it out. But I couldn't do it without you. And now I'm going to help you figure this out."

She sniffled, fighting to blink away the tears as she looked up at him. "You promise?"

"I promise." He brushed her tears away. "After all, what are the odds that a massive world spy organization can beat a couple geniuses, three little mutants, two master assassins, two gods, and an old man, huh?"

She giggled.

"That's better." He tucked her against him again. "We got this. After all, none of us should even be alive. We've got nothing to lose."

Arriana laughed in spite of herself. "Well, in that case, how about we have a party on the roof and light some fireworks."

Tony playfully winced. "Ooh, sorry, can't. I've got a thing."

She laughed and gave him a push. "Oh, go thing yourself, Tony."

He snorted. "And I'll leave the thinging to Loki." He gave her a shove into Loki's lap.

"Speaking of," Loki murmured in her ear. He looked up at Tony. "Do you still need them?"

"Nope. We're waiting. Romanoff and Barton are still on schedule, and Banner is stable again."

"I said I'd check in on him every hour or so," Lizzy said.

"Jarvis can get the pilot for you," Tony said.

She shrugged. "I figured I'd contact him in his mind, that way I don't have to wake him if he's actually sleeping."

Tony snapped and gave her finger-guns. "Then that's all you, babe."

Loki got to his feet, lifting Arriana with him. "Then I'll take them down to their rooms so they can get freshened up and rest."

"Sounds good. Give Tani and the cats pets for me," Tony said.

"We will." Michael got to his feet and pulled Lizzy up.

"Come, my darlings." Loki kept an eye on Steve, but he made no movement to stop them, so he carried Arriana into the elevator with Michael and Lizzy on his heels.

The doors slid shut.

"You should have told her," Tony said.

"Drop it, Stark." Steve stood stubbornly with his back to them, pretending to watch the map.

Tony shook his head and slid back into his chair.

Pepper leaned down and kissed his cheek. "I'm going to go back up to my office. Since I couldn't be at the meeting, I should try to do a conference call."

"We need to lock down, Pepper. I can't let any transmissions go out right now."

"But..."

He turned to her, a rare moment of giving her his full attention. "I understand this is important to the business, and as soon as I can allow transmissions I will sit in on the conference with you if you'd like, but right now it's a safety concern. There can't be any way for SHIELD to detect our presence. I'm 99% certain my technology is impermeable by theirs, but I can't be 100% certain, so I won't risk everyone's safety." He brought her fingers to his lips. "Especially yours."

Pepper sighed. "Alright." She cupped his face. "Do I still have access to the Stark Industries databases and mainframe?"

"Absolutely, Ms. Potts." He looked up at her, studying every detail of her face – her bright, sharp eyes that saw every one of his faults, her elfin ears that picked up everything he muttered under his breath, her straight and somehow perfectly set nose that she wrinkled when she was thinking, and her indulgent smile when he acted like a charming ass.

Steve watched them out of the corner of his eye. It wasn't a look he thought would ever cross Tony Stark's face. It looked as if he was worshiping her, this woman he loved. Lucky bastard. Steve turned back to studying the world map, forcing his mind to focus on any differences from the maps in the 1940s. New countries. New lines drawn. Everything's new. He glanced over his shoulders at the elevator doors where Arriana had disappeared. Well, some things are the same. I always lose the girl.

Cal paced his office for the millionth time that day with the New York news droning in the background, sure he'd worn a trench in the floor by now. He couldn't get the look of hunted fear in Lizzy, Michael, and Arriana's eyes out of his head, nor shake the sadness in Arriana's voice when she said she couldn't have what she wanted. He didn't know if those were connected or not, but he didn't like to hear her so heartbroken.

They're always a little freaked out when they leave for New York since the attack, he told himself for the hundredth time. He stopped short. No, they're not. They weren't scared when they went to stay with friends just weeks after the attack. A frown pinched his brow. An' they were freaked out when they left for New York before the attack. He turned to pace again. But that was because one of their friends was kidnapped or somethin'.

"Are you still here?"

He spun around to find Gillian leaning against his door. "What are you doin' here?"

She shook her head, a smile curving her lips. "I was finishing up the paychecks for this week. Remember, we had to cut back on our accounting budget so I do the paychecks now." She stopped in front of him.

"Oh, right," he frowned. "I'm sorry, love." He cupped her face. "Are you doin' alright? Are you doin' too much?"

She gave a soft laugh. "I'm fine, Cal. It's just some accounting."

"Yeah, but I don't want too much on your plate. We can get someone in to do that."

"No, we can't," she said, her gaze pinning him to the spot. "We can barely afford the abysmal salary we're paying our little minions." She sighed. "I really don't know how they make ends meet."

"I'm not sure they always are." Cal brushed her hair back and then forced himself to withdraw his hands. "I was hoping their friends would help them more, but there's some reason they won't take help."

"Why do you say that?"

"Well, they let slip one time that their friend Tony offered to help them with bills – he's the one who lives in Manhattan, so you know he's got to be loaded," he said. She nodded. "But they said they couldn't, and wouldn't say anything more about it. Which is what always happens when I get close to this other part of their life."

She put a hand on his shoulder. "I guess be grateful they're at least not lying to you and accept it for now, Cal."

"You're not worried about them?"

"Of course, I am. But I don't want to lose what trust we've gained by pushing passed the line. We've always had that line for a reason. We know things around here. We see things. There needs to be some privacy."

"Yeah, I know. I just..." He heaved a sigh.

The newscaster's voice changed tone. "In other news, the Bronx police are still investigating the explosion near the 46th precinct at 4:37 this morning." Cal and Gillian exchanged glances. "No deaths have been reported, but two were taken to the hospital in critical condition. A second explosion occurred just two hours later in the parking lot of a Hackensack 7-Eleven at 6:26 this morning where three were taken to the hospital. Two are still in critical condition, while one person was released a few hours later with minor injuries. A police spokesperson said the incidents don't appear to be related and insist there is no reason to suspect an act of terrorism, however, a source close to the investigation stated that the explosives used were the same. It's unclear yet what the motivation of either bomber was."

Cal turned to her, pointing at the screen. "Two explosions this morning! What are the chances?"

"Don't overreact, Cal," she said, a frown pinching her brow as she rubbed his arm. "I know it's odd timing, but don't you think if that had something to do with our three little minions the explosions would've been here in Minnesota? Not in New York."

He frowned. "True, but their friends are all in New York."

"No, they go to New York to see their friends. We only know Tony lives in New York, and he's in Manhattan. Neither explosion was in Manhattan."

"Maybe the organization runs out of Manhattan."

"Cal," she sighed. Shaking her head, Gillian hugged him. "You've seen how they've reacted to criminals in our investigations."

"Yeah?" He frowned. "What's your point?"

"And you've seen how warmly they talk about Tony and their other friends. These are people they truly love. Now do you really think our little minions would feel that way about hardened criminals?"

He pressed his lips, searching for a reason to say yes, but he finally let his breath rush out. "No, it's not possible."

"Based on their reactions to a lot of the criminals we've come across it's more likely they're part of... some crime fighting group than a criminal organization."

He let out a harsh laugh. "Yeah, probably more likely they're part of the bloody Avengers than being part of the mob or somethin'."

"Try not to worry too much," she said. "I'm sure they'll be fine."

Cal gave himself a shake. "Yeah, you're right, of course." He managed a smile for her. "You should go home and get some rest. I know accounting tires you out."

She smiled, shaking her head at him. "Good night, Cal. You get some rest, too."

"I will."

"No, you won't."

"Not a chance." He grinned. "But you should." He kissed her cheek. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Cal." With one more glance at him, she left.

He listened to the click of her heels down the echoing halls until they disappeared out the door. Sliding behind his desk, he pulled up the security cameras, and watched her as she walked to her car, got in, and drove away without anyone suspicious following her.

Smiling in spite of himself, Cal clicked out of the security system and leaned back in his chair. M' little minions are damn good with the security system, he chuckled to himself. He froze.

They were more than damn good with it. They were better than Loker at times, and his ability with technology was what frequently saved Loker from being fired.

"An' how the hell were they so calm going back to New York only a few weeks after aliens fuckin' invaded?" He launched out of his chair again, pacing the length of the room. "They were freaked out before the attack on New York. They were horribly injured. Weeks later they go back to New York, but they aren't freakin' out." He stopped short. "But why not?"

Dropping into his chair he pulled up the saved security footage of them leaving each time.

The first trip had been unplanned, an emergency. "Brows raised and pinched. Eyes wide, pupils dilated. An' there, when I ask them why they're leaving, they all look down." He tracked the footage backward and forward. "God, they look down exactly together. That's impossible. There's always a slight variation." He spun it forward and back again and again. "But there's definitely no variation. They are in perfect sync with each other."

He slumped back in his chair. "I know they're close, but this is on the level of mass hallucination. It just doesn't happen."

Tossing the thought aside to worry about later, he flipped to the footage of when they left to stay with their friends.

"Smiles. Eyes crinkling. Relaxed posture. Laughing." He sat back again, chewing on his finger. "They're not scared at all." He was quiet for a moment, and then flipped to the footage of them leaving in July.

All three had seemed off since they got back from visiting their friends, but it hadn't seemed serious at first.

"A week later..." He stared at the date on the footage. "Ten days... Ten days later and they had to leave again after Lizzy had some sort of episode." He watched the footage through.

Her eyes slid out of focus and she sort of froze like a posed doll. Then a moment later she'd started speaking in a language that Cal still hadn't identified.

"It's got to be some kind of Norse language, but I don't think she knows any Scandinavian languages even though her family's Norwegian." He unlocked the drawer he kept important documents in and grabbed the key to open the drawer he really kept important documents in. Launching out of his chair, he jogged the few steps into his study and popped open the file cabinet, flicking through the personnel files until he came to theirs.

He scanned the files. "No, they only speak Spanish, German, an' ASL, an' I know they know some art related words in Hindi – which is odd enough – and Russian swearwords." He flipped their files shut and slid them back into the drawer, careful to lock it and return the keys to their lockbox as well.

"Which means it must have been a hallucination? But..." He dropped back into his chair. "That calls for a trip to the doctor, not a trip to see your friends. An' now this time. Absolutely terrified when they left." He clicked to the footage of them leaving that morning. They came in, talked for a moment, hugged him, and left – all with terror in their eyes. Cal stared at the video of the closed office door.

Curious, he flicked through footage until he found the pieces he wanted and linked them together. Hitting play, he watched them leave his office, walk down the hall, out the front doors...

"And break into a run." He chewed his fingers as he watched the video. "Damn, where did they learn to slide across the hood of a car... and how the hell can she drive like that..." The footage stopped as their car careened around a corner and disappeared behind a building.

He launched out of his chair once more and resumed pacing. "They were afraid, yeah, but not actually terrified. That's m' worry seein' that. The science says they were experiencing an amount of fear. An' I did see the signs of paranoia typically associated with someone being stalked or chased, but they were calm and in control. Average people aren't in control if they believe they're being followed."

A frown pinched his brow and he slid around his desk, leaning to click through video stills. He rewound to them leaving their office before they talked to him.

"God, they're so casual. Their body language isn't showin' any of the fear I could see up close." He paused and backed the video up. "Did Lizzy just subtly check their six?" His heart skipped a beat. "No, there's no way."

His feet dragged him back to pacing. "Unnatural amounts of emotional control, excess language skills – though nothing outside of the normal range – random skills the average person has no business having..." Cal stopped short and dropped onto his couch, staring at the diagrm photos on the wall opposite. "A perfect shot. Months ago. Why didn't I see that? No one in this bloody office can handle an armed assailant except me. That's why the FBI fuckin' gave me an agent. An' they were all a better shot. So good there was only one hole in the guy. An' they didn't seem phased."

"No. No, no, no, no." He leaped up again, hands dragging through his hair. "It can't be. They can't be agents. The FBI would've told me. Why would they put one known agent and three undercover agents in m' office?" He stopped. "Would the CIA? I've had a few dealing's with them, but I didn't think I'd pissed anyone off enough to embed three secret agents in m' office."

He shook himself and resumed pacing. "No, no, they can't be agents. Their mental health and background would disqualify them for the training programs. An' they've known some o' these friends since they were young. Phil they knew since they were, what? Twelve, I think. God," he groaned, running a hand over his face. "M' poor little minions. His death hit them hard. No wonder they were so beat up when they got back from New York if they were close enough one of their friends was killed by an alien."

Cal froze for a moment and then spun toward the chair where Gillian usually sat. "But if they're takin' his death so hard, why were they fine with goin' back to New York weeks after?" The growled cry rushed out of him without his permission. "It doesn't make sense. What are they? What's this bloody secret? Did they get involved in drug trafficking as kids? Did they somehow get messed up with the mafia – talkin' about all these 'friends'? Are they FBI or CIA?"

He wandered into his study and collapsed onto his couch. "I just wish they'd let me in," he groaned. "I just want to know m' little minions are safe." Knowing Emily was at her mother's and he'd only be going home to an empty house, he pulled the blanket Gillian bought for him over himself and let his mind wander through the strange patterns of information he'd picked up over two years. "I love them. I just want to make sure they're safe." He heaved a sigh. "I'm not sure I'd be less devastated if something happened to them than I would if something happened to Emily."


	6. Chapter 6

Thor paced back and forth in front of the map. "I told you already, Captain. The memories are fuzzy and don't seem to be in order. I have told you what I know. Of one thing alone am I certain, and that is Loki is innocent."

"He killed thousands, Thor." Steve rubbed his hands over his face. "He can't be innocent of that."

"Innocent's probably the wrong word," Tony chimed in. "Pardoned?"

Steve glared at him. "Then that decision should have been made by the whole team, not a small part."

Tony turned in his chair and leaned back, hands behind his head and legs crossed. "Time was of the essence."

"And you didn't have time to call me? What's the point of all this technology if it isn't faster?"

"It is faster, and contacting everyone wasn't the time killer. It was the convincing everyone part."

"So you admit you went behind our backs."

"Gee," Tony slammed his hands down on the arms of the chair and launched to his feet, "I wonder if this conversation would go differently if you were talking to Arriana instead of me."

"That has nothing to do with this." Steve launched off the couch, squaring up with Tony. "There are nine members in this team."

"And five members made the decision."

"Without everyone even knowing it was up for discussion."

They circled each other, only one step below shouting.

"Gentlemen," Thor called.

"What?" they both barked, turning to him.

"I suggest we take a deep breath and attempt to recall that we are all friends and allies here."

The two men glared at each other and then turned, Tony stomping to the bar to refill his glass and Steve stomping to the windows to stare out over Manhattan.

Thor looked between them. He wandered over to the bar. "You must forgive his harsh words, Friend Stark."

Tony leaned on the bar. "For the millionth time, Thor. You can drop the 'friend' title on everyone's name. Not a thing done here. We're not big on titles."

"My apologies, Stark."

"That works."

"I shall do better to remember, but that aside, he only wants to protect your world."

"As if I don't?"

"I did not say that. But you and he approach things differently." Thor watched him carefully. "Correct me if I am wrong, but you usually work alone." Tony shrugged. "And he has long worked as leader of a team." Another shrug. "Then I'm sure it seemed very cautious to consult with four others, but the captain seems to be accustomed to seeking the advise and agreement of all. Neither approach is wrong, but each has its strengths in different moments. From what little I can piece together, time was very much of the essence. I'm sure my delay was longer than you would have liked."

"True. We've really gotta find a faster way to get in touch with you."

"My apologies. If I could make my father see reason that I am a part of a team here and not just doting on my pet planet, it would be much easier. I'm sure our magicians could find a way to wed your technology with our own ways to give you access to me."

Tony glanced at the screens scrolling through data and handed Thor a filled glass.

Thor smiled and lifted his glass in salute. "You will have to acquaint me with your Midgardian liquors. Do you know if they are much like that of Asgard?"

"Triplets didn't say anything about the liquor."

"Come to think of it, I'm not sure they had any."

"Glad to hear it. That could've been dangerous since they don't know how it would effect them."

"Very true. And they were not there for a friendly visit unfortunately. I hope they found Asgardian hospitality up to their standards."

Tony waved aside the comment. "They liked your mom. Weren't keen on your dad. Not a big shock."

Thor frowned. "Hmm... that is worrisome."

Tony took a long drink. "Why?"

"Well, as he is king of Asgard, I had hoped they would find him a good and fair ruler."

Tony snorted. "Sorry to disappoint there, Point Break." He clapped him on the shoulder. "But based on first impressions they sound like they're ready to start a coup."

"That is troubling. I shall have to talk with them more of their impressions while I am here. Things are not well on Asgard and I fear that my father may be to blame." He sighed, took a long drink, and nearly dropped it, coughing heavily. "What is this made of? Bilgesnipe bile?"

Tony gave a wry laugh. "Hardly. If you can't handle that, don't try the cheap stuff."

"What is it?"

"Scotch. It's a whiskey made in Scotland. Don't drink too much. If you think that's strong, you'll be flat on your back after two glasses."

"Oh, no, you mistake me. It isn't a potent libation, only strong of taste. On Asgard our liquors are mellow and warm, or sweet. Depending on the occasion."

Tony quirked a brow. "We might have to talk more about how you make your liquors."

"My sincerest apologies, but I am a poor source of talk. I know only of the drinking of liquors and nothing of their making."

Tony rolled his eyes. "Typical palace brat."

Thor chuckled and clapped him on the shoulder harder than Tony would have liked. "I am afraid that may be very true." He was quiet for a moment as he drank and grimaced. "You might ask Loki. He seems to know odd things."

"Such as?"

Thor shrugged his massive shoulders. "Out on campaign once, he and I were separated from the rest of our company. I had of course been trained to build a fire and shelter as necessary, and hunt of course, but Loki knew how to make the most delicious stew. He knew of tasty herbs and roots in the region and how to find them. I was amazed. Though I must confess I never told him so." He fell quiet for a moment and stared off into the distance. "Perhaps that is what he meant, that he lived in my shadow."

"Oh, I'd bet there's a lot more to it than that, Thor." Rolling his eyes, he refilled his glass and Thor's, and headed for his makeshift command station again.

Thor stood in contemplation for another moment, and then poured a second glass. He paused at the map to watch the blinking dots and then moved over to stand beside Steve, handing him the glass.

"Thanks," Steve said, not looking away from the deepening shadows of the skyscrapers far below them.

"It is beautiful," Thor said. "A different sort of beauty than what I am used to, but I cannot deny the wonder of such a landscape constructed by Midgardians."

"Yeah." Steve fell silent for a moment. "Didn't used to look like this."

Thor watched him for a moment. "Were things much different in your time?"

Steve gave a harsh laugh. "Seems like it, but I guess not so much. Buildings weren't as tall, things didn't move so fast, but people weren't as free and I suppose that's more important than the rest. I'd rather people were free than I felt comfortable."

Thor clapped him on the shoulder. "You are a good man. All should feel as such, but alas I think that is something much too similar between Asgard and Midgard – those in power grow comfortable and perhaps overstep their power even without realizing they do so. I must confess I am one. Growing up in a palace I suppose it would be difficult not to become blind to everything around you."

Steve chuckled and clapped him on the shoulder. "Must have been hard for you, Thor."

Thor threw his head back, letting our a roar of laughter. "A fair hit, my friend. A very fair hit. My life could not be said to be hard. Servants to wait upon me, all the court to lavish praise upon me, and the king himself training me at his right hand." He fell quiet. "But then there are many things I've lost. The most precious I think being an honest voice to remind me of my commonness. That is what I value most about all of you. You are not afraid to tell me your honest thoughts. And what I valued in Loki, I suppose. Though I never told him." He frowned and fell silent.

"You can always do better, Thor. Learning is a part of being human. Or Asgardian, I suppose. I think it's probably the same. When you stop learning you start dying."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, at least for us, if you don't use something, you lose it. Like muscles." He shrugged. "For the average person, if you don't keep strengthening your muscles, they'll weaken. It's the same with the mind. Learning is training the mind, like you train muscles."

"That is a very interesting way of looking at it. I had always supposed that scholars lived longer because they never ventured near anything more dangerous than a cut from the edge of a scroll or neck strain."

"That's a thing on Asgard, too?"

Thor laughed. "Indeed it is. A great affliction of the scholars. Most warriors don't live long enough to have neck strain."

Steve laughed.

"Perhaps that is because warriors do not use their minds much once they have learned the ways of battle and how to wield their weapon of choice." He frowned again. "Maybe if warriors spent more time among the scrolls they would not die so young."

"And if the scholars spent a little more time swinging a sword they might not suffer from neck strain so much."

"Indeed," Thor laughed. "Perhaps we should all learn many trades rather than just one."

"We have a saying that goes 'Jack of all trades is a master of none, but oftentimes better than a master of one'."

"And what does it mean?"

"It means that knowing a little about a lot of things can often be more useful than knowing a lot about one thing."

"Perhaps that's why Loki always seems more clever than I." Thor shrugged. "Or perhaps he's just cleverer than I."

They fell into silence as they watched the minute movements of the ant-like cars far below.

"Come to daddy," Tony laughed as he typed away.

Steve glanced over and shook his head.

Thor looked between them. "It seems to me you are very much alike. You and the Man of Iron."

"Hardly, Thor. I'll grant you he's more willing to sacrifice when the cards are down than I expected, but he's still a rich, egotistical madman."

Thor chuckled. "I'm not sure he would completely disagree with you. None the less, you are both leaders. You merely lead differently."

"What do you mean?" Steve glanced over at him.

"You both lead by example, but you are accustomed to your fellows being close to observe your example and Stark is accustomed to working alone with others observing him from afar."

"You mean doing whatever he wants."

"No," Thor said, "I do not believe Stark merely does whatever he wants. I believe he weighs the effects and outcomes most carefully, but not perhaps in the most friendly way. You are much more like the lovely Lady Arriana. She cares more for the heart than is strictly practical, which is why she works so well with Lady Lizzy, who tends to focus on what is more strictly practical and logical."

"And Michael?" Steve lifted a brow.

"I believe, as Lord Michael put it, he is the cookie that holds the nuts and chocolate chips together."

"I remember when chocolate chips came out in 1941. They were big news. Not that I could have any at first. Not until after the serum."

"Why could you not have these chocolate chips?" Thor asked, glancing over at him. "And what are chocolate chips?"

Steve chuckled. "They're small bits of chocolate? I was allergic to chocolate."

Thor lifted a brow.

"You don't have chocolate on Asgard?"

"Not to my knowledge."

"Damn, that's too bad. It's killer diller."

"I am not sure I understand you." Thor frowned. "I'm afraid my Allspeak doesn't account for the many colorful variations in your language."

Steve laughed softly. "Sorry, Thor. Um... chocolate's great. It's a dessert ingredient – sort of creamy and sweet, but dark and earthy. If that makes sense."

"It sounds wonderful. It sounds much like súkkulaði."

"I don't have that neat Allspeak thing. What's that?"

Thor chuckled. "It is a confection made from the milk of the hreindýr and the roasted bark of the kanil tree."

Steve frowned. "Sounds awful, but if I'm honest it doesn't sound that much different than how chocolate is made. It's milk from a cow and the roasted beans of the cacao tree. I looked it up on Wikipedia."

"What is Wikipedia?"

"Did anyone explain the internet to you?" Steve asked. Thor shook his head. "Oh, well, I'm not the man for that job, I don't really understand it, but it has huge amounts of information and Wikipedia is a huge encyclopedia with information on just about any topic. I've been doing a lot of reading."

"Has your world changed so much in such a short space of time?"

"I guess it's not that a lot has changed, but there's a lot more access to information we just didn't have back in the forties. Seems like nobody knew anything back then."

"I still know little of Midgard, though I am eager to learn more. I only know what I learned from Jane Foster when I was here a year or so ago by your reckoning, and the great exploits of my father when he defeated the Jotuns when I was a small boy. About the time Loki was born, or adopted, I suppose."

"I thought I knew more, but I'm realizing that I knew what I was told in the newspapers, not necessarily what was actually going on."

"I suppose there are always two stories to tell," Thor said, glancing at Tony. "The one we wish people to see and the truth that lies beneath." He turned back to Steve. "Much like yourself."

"Meaning?"

"There is more to your dislike of Stark than merely disagreeing about how the decision to save Loki was made. It seems to me something a little more personal."

Steve rolled his eyes. "Now you're being nosy too?"

Thor held up his hands. "I do not mean to make a nuisance of myself. I only wish to help." He watched Steve for a moment. "Though, to make a nuisance of myself, did you and Lady Arriana not have affection for one another? I was certain you admired her."

"She's with your brother now, isn't she?"

"Is it not allowable to take more than one lover on Midgard?"

Steve spun to face him. "No, and are you saying it's normal on Asgard?"

"Normal, no. I suppose it is allowable, but I know of none who do. There are some cultures in other realms that frequently take more than one lover." Thor shrugged. "None the less, perhaps she has taken refuge in my brother's affections because she is unsure of your own. Why not tell her that you love her? If she does not return the affections, I'm sure she will gently tell you so."

"Yeah, it's that part that I'm worried about."

"You fear her rejection?"

Steve was silent.

"Do not let your fear cloud your judgment. I am guilty of that mistake and I'm afraid I have lost the woman I loved." He stood for a long moment watching the sun as it began it's final journey to the horizon. "If ever I were given the chance to see her again, however, I would tell her I love her. That I would spend all the years of my life with her if she would have me."

Steve swallowed thickly and firmly stared at the darkening horizon.

"Sir," Jarvis interrupted their thoughts.

"Whatcha got for me, J?" Tony called.

"Agent Romanoff and Agent Barton have safely landed at LaGuardia airport, sir. They have stowed the SHIELD Quinjet in your private hanger and are currently loading into the waiting SUV."

"Perfect. Calculate time of arrival with current conditions." He spun around to look at the map.

"Twenty-five minutes to arrival at Stark Tower according to current traffic conditions, sir."

"Keep us posted if anything changes, Jarvis." He flicked a few screens away and studied the map for a moment. "How long until Banner lands, J?"

"Two hours and twenty-three minutes, sir."

"Good. We only lost a few minutes with our little snafu."

Steve watched him work for a few minutes, and then wandered over to the bar and grabbed the decanter of scotch. He took a deep breath and walked over and refilled Tony's glass.

Tony looked up, one brow quirked.

"Look, Stark, I still don't agree with the decision to bring Loki here without discussing it with the whole team, but I understand you felt you needed to make an immediate decision."

"I wasn't the only one making it, Rogers."

"I understand. I'm hoping once we have the whole team here we can sit down and all discuss what happened. I'd like to know what information the decision was based on."

"That's for the triplets and Loki to decide." Tony took a long swig from his glass. "And I'd appreciate it if you didn't mention Loki to Barton or Romanoff. Barton's going to be touchy about it and I don't want the triplets caught between Loki and him."

Steve's back straightened. "Stark, he has a right to know."

"I didn't say he wouldn't be told. I just asked you not to tell him. Since I told you guys, the triplets will probably have to tell everyone else."

"You weren't going to tell anyone, were you?"

Tony folded his arms over his chest as he leaned back in his chair. "Would that bother you, Rogers? If Loki had been in the tower, minding his own business, and you hadn't known about it? Or are you mad that I told you and now you think you can't have Arriana?"

"Don't start that again, Stark."

"I don't consider it starting when I never really stopped."

"Stark..."

"Gentlemen," Thor called. "I think our energies would be better served focusing on our common enemy. We are all wanted by SHIELD, correct?"

They both muttered agreement. Steve turned to stomp away.

"Leave the scotch," Tony said.

Steve met his gaze and walked it back over to the bar and set it back in its place.

Tony snorted. "Nice. I'm completely defeated by you putting the scotch back where I always keep it."

"I don't think it's advisable for you to be drunk right now," Steve said, crossing his arms over his heaving chest as he fought to keep his emotions under control.

"Oh, please, I've done a lot more a hell of a lot drunker than this. At the moment, this is just Jarvis running the show."

"Thank you, sir," Jarvis said.

"I'm just poking around SHIELD's databases."

"Stark, they're going to catch you and then whatever secrecy we have is gone," Steve barked.

"Oh, yeah, they're great at catching me at stuff. Like they caught the hidden virus I planted in the first virus I used to discover Phase 2."

"They immediately caught you infiltrating their systems."

"Because I didn't care if they knew," Tony said. "Once I had the information I didn't care if they knew. Hell, I wanted them to know," he leaped up from his chair, "because I wanted to happen exactly what happened. Fury barges in to ask me what I'm doing. I now can ask all the questions I want. The fact that your inelegant detective work turned something up is a coincidence. And I did it faster, by the way."

The elevator doors dinged.

"Oh, this pissing contest is really turning me on," Lizzy said as the four of them came off the elevator. "Jarvis woke us. He said Clint and Tasha would be here soon."

"Yeah." Tony glanced at the map. "A couple minutes until they're in the tower. Then it's just Bruce we're waiting for."

"What about Fury?" Steve asked. "Do we know where he is?"

"He'll have disappeared underground with the other rats," Tony said with a chuckle. "They'll never find him."

"What's your problem, Stark?" Steve spun around again. "The man risked his life to warn us and you're calling him a rat."

"It's a compliment." Tony dropped back into his chair. "He's a spy."

Arriana helplessly watched between them.

Loki nudged her. Go, he whispered in her mind, you're the only one that can calm him down right now.

I doubt I'll calm him much given... everything.

Well, try anyway. Loki gave her a harder push and pulled Michael and Lizzy down onto the couch with him.

She wandered over, took a deep breath, and put a hand on Steve's arm. He spun to look at her.

"You okay?"

"Uh... yeah. Yeah, I'm fine." He ran a hand through his hair. "Are you feeling better?" He wasn't sure, and he didn't want to know for sure, but Steve thought he could smell the heady scent of sex surrounding her. He glanced over at Loki cuddling the other two. He frowned. "That doesn't bother you?"

She glanced over. "Oh, no." Her cheeks flamed. "I'm sure it's an odd arrangement to you. It's not really normal for most, but..." She shrugged, wrapping her arms around herself. "It works for us. Loki loves all three of us equally and we all love him. We all want him to be happy, and we want each other to be happy. There's not really any competition between us."

Steve nodded as he watched them for a moment, and then shook himself. "Do you think Fury needs protection?"

"Huh? Oh..." She looked over at the map. "No, Tony's right. He'll have had at least three or four hiding places prepared for something like this."

"He figured SHIELD would try to kill him?"

"He always figures everyone's trying to kill him," she shrugged. "Cost of being a spy."

"Are you afraid someone's always trying to kill you?" he asked, watching her closely.


	7. Chapter 7

"Sir," Jarvis said, "Agents Barton and Romanoff have safely arrived in Stark Tower."

"Thank you, Jarvis. Bring them up after they've checked in." Tony turned to the triplets. "You might want to cover up Loverboy, or he'll be shot on sight."

They nodded.

"Loki, sweetheart," Lizzy kissed his cheek.

"Gladly, for your sakes." He slid her off his lap and then disappeared in a flicker.

"Are you cloaked?" Arriana asked.

"Yes," they heard his disembodied voice.

"Can you still see him?" Tony asked. All three nodded. "Interesting. I'll have to look into that more. Maybe his powers are just a higher version of yours or maybe it's because your brains are tangled."

They all shrugged.

"That's for your big brain to figure out," Michael said.

Tony gave him a wink and turned back to the screens.

The elevator dinged.

"Where is everyone and what do we know so far?" Natasha asked before she'd even exited the elevator.

Michael and Lizzy leaped up, and all three raced for her and Clint, slamming into them in a hug.

"Are you both okay?" Arriana asked.

"Were you on a mission?" Lizzy asked.

"Where were you?" Michael asked. "Was the food good?"

Clint snorted and hugged them. "Slow down, you three. Yes, we were on a mission in North Korea, and, yes, the food was good. Not that we ate much."

"Are you hungry?" Arriana asked. "We can get you something to eat. Tony..." She spun around.

"Sorry, kiddo. I sent the kitchen staff home. I didn't want to risk them being here if something went down."

"Oh, true. Okay, well, I'll make you something."

Romanoff put an arm around her. "We're fine. We'll grab something after we've debriefed."

"Bruce is still in the air," Lizzy said. "He's the last one we're waiting for."

"How far out?"

"A couple hours."

"It's going to be a long debriefing," Tony said. "I figure we'll wait until Bruce gets here so we don't have to start all over. You can head down to your floors and relax while we wait."

"Floors?" Clint asked.

"Yeah. You're a few floors below the triplets." He waved aside further comment. "They can show you. Or Jarvis can."

Arriana was already gathering up her hair and twisting it into a messy bun. "Lizzy, Michael, why don't you show Tasha and Clint their floors and I'll make everyone something to eat. We have a few hours before Bruce lands and I'm sure he'll be hungry when he gets here, and we'll have lots to talk about so we'll need nibbles."

"Knock yourself out," Michael said. "Tony, did you show Thor his floor?"

"Oh, right." Tony grabbed the screens and tossed them onto his phone. "Come on, Point Break. Then you can put that hammer away. And don't call it through the floors, I just repaired everything."

"Not unless it was an emergency, of course."

"Yeah, it's your definition of emergency I'm questioning." He rolled his eyes as he passed the triplets, making them laugh, and led the way into one of the elevators.

"Come on," Lizzy said, "it might take a couple hours to show you your floors. This is Stark Tower, after all."

"What do you mean floors?" Clint asked as they followed her.

"You each have a floor."

The doors closed.

Arriana glanced over at Steve. "Are... are you hungry?" she asked.

"Uh, I guess. I hadn't thought about it."

"You could come down with me if you wanted. Or just hang out here, or your floor. It's... it's up to you."

"I don't want to get in your way."

A sad smile lifted the corners of her mouth. "You're never in my way, Steve. You're more than welcome to come down to our floors while I make food."

"I'm sure Loki can keep you company."

Loki appeared with a shimmer out of thin air behind her. "I'm sure Arriana would enjoy your company, Captain Rogers. You are friends, are you not?" He lifted a smooth brow. "And I certainly have no objections, assuming you do not mean to punch me."

He gave a short laugh. "I'm not big on bullies."

"We have a great deal in common then."

Arriana frowned. "Please."

It felt as if Thor's hammer had just crashed into Steve's chest. "I... I think I'll stay here and keep an eye on... things." He looked around, knowing it was a pathetic attempt at an excuse.

"Oh, okay." She followed Loki into the elevator.

Loki wrapped his arms around her and glared back at him. He turned and stared at the nearly darkened cityscape as he listened to the elevator doors close.

"I'm an idiot," Steve sighed, turning.

"You are." Loki appeared in front of him.

Steve yelled. "What the hell? What's the big idea popping up behind me?"

Loki prowled around him. "I swear if you break her heart, Rogers, I will show you how dangerous I can be."

"Are you threatening me?" Steve said, standing to his full six foot height.

With a dark laugh, Loki straightened, standing a couple inches taller and looked down at him. "Yes." With a maniacal laugh, he disappeared in a glimmer of light.

"God, I hate that," Steve sighed.

"Do you?" came Loki's voice from behind him again. "Good to know."

Steve spun around. "I thought you'd gone with Arriana."

"Just one question," Loki hissed. "If you love her so, why torment her? Or is that your preference? To hurt those you profess to love?"

Before Steve could answer, Loki spun around and dissipated.

"What the hell was that?"

No answer came.

Steve finally breathed a sigh of relief and dropped onto the couch. "Now what?" he sighed.

Tony jogged off the elevator from showing Thor his floor and screeched to a halt when he saw Steve standing by the windows. "I thought you'd be down..." He cut himself off as Steve spun around. "Oh, of course, you're being an idiot."

"What are you talking about, Stark?" Steve shot, his voice sharp.

"Hey, don't take it out on me that you're throwing her away."

Steve stormed toward him. "I am not throwing her away! She made a choice and I will respect her choice."

"You're not respecting her choice," Tony spat. "You're being a coward and making the choice for her."

"She chose Loki."

"She doesn't know she has a choice!"

Steve's hands jolted into fists, but he kept them carefully at his sides. "I think it was clear how I felt about her when she stayed with me, Stark," he said, his voice purposely quiet and level.

Tony gave a derisive snort. "Please. You going on and on about 'it's just friends with benefits, just friends with benefits, we're just friends'. Give me a break. If it was so clear how you felt, how did she feel about it?"

"That we're friends." Steve could only hold his gaze for a few moments before he turned away to stare out at the darkness again.

Tony stared, slowly shaking his head. "Here I thought I'd been wrong about you. That you weren't full of your self-righteous, self-sacrificing bullshit." Steve looked over at him, a frown pinching his brows. "But I shouldn't have doubted myself. You are exactly the self-righteous martyr I thought you'd be." Tony's chest heaved as he glared for a moment, the next the anger melted away. He shook his head. "You don't deserve her. Not for a second."

Before Steve could say anything, Tony jogged over to his makeshift console and tossed the screens all around him, blocking any view of the rest of the room.

Steve stared after him for a moment and then turned back to his darkened reflection in the windows. He's right. You don't deserve her. You never did. Your life has one purpose – to protect peace for the innocent. Nothing else. I'll do what I have to. He looked away, not even able to look himself in the eye. Whether I have to live or die, I'll give her the life I never had, even if it's with another.

"Is everyone outfitted with suits?" Clint asked as they perused the suits and equipment.

"Yeah," Lizzy said, "everyone has a hidden compartment in their closet that contains a basic supply of suits, survival gear, and weapons. If they have specialty equipment that'll be in there too."

"Is that where Thor's gonna put his hammer?" he laughed.

"No," Michael said, "Tony figured Thor wouldn't be willing to put it in a closet. He created a pedestal at the center of Thor's entry for Mjolnir. You know, proper respect and all that."

"How extra is his floor?" Clint asked as they headed back out into the closet, the hidden door sliding shut and disappearing into the wall again behind them.

"Really extra," Lizzy laughed. "And actually fairly reminiscent of the palace in Asgard."

Natasha spun around. "How would you know?"

"That's what Thor said," she said, her voice hesitating slightly.

"Thor hadn't seen his floor yet," Clint said, narrowing his eyes. "What did you three do?"

Michael looked at Lizzy, his eyes meaningfully wide.

She winced. "If we say we'll explain everything once Bruce gets here, will you leave it alone for now?"

They both crossed their arms, standing shoulder to shoulder.

"What did you do?" Natasha asked again.

"Guess that's a no," Lizzy mumbled. She sighed. "We went to Asgard, alright? We had a really, really good reason that we'll explain later."

"You left the planet without permission?" Clint said.

"You left the universe without permission?" Natasha hissed.

"Oh, we are in so much trouble." Michael ran a hand over his face with a sigh. "We really will explain everything later. And we hope you won't hate us."

The words and the pleading looks on their faces stopped Clint and Natasha's tirade in its tracks.

They let their prepared lungfuls of air slip out.

"Okay, fair enough," Clint said. "We want a full and complete explanation as soon as possible, but we're not going to hate you. No matter what."

Natasha groaned and pulled them both into a hug with Clint. "You know we love you. That didn't change after you hijacked the jet or went to the Stark Expo without telling anyone. It didn't change when missions went wrong. It didn't change when you stupidly adopted that puppy-dog Lightman, and it won't change now... Whatever you've done this time." She gave them a gentle shove.

Clint kissed them. "You three managed to make us love you, and that doesn't happen often, so you're stuck with us."

"We like being stuck with you," Michael said, gripping them tightly, terrified that having broken Loki, of all people, out of prison and then hooking up with him would be the last straw.

"Come on, let's go up to your floor and see how little miss chef is doing," Natasha said. "Then we'll head up to the Party Deck and see where everyone's at."

"I should check on Bruce again," Lizzy said. "Michael..."

"I got you." Michael took her hand and started toward the elevators.

Lizzy's eyes slid out of focus as they walked.

"Isn't it tempting sometimes to just walk her into a wall or something?" Clint asked.

"Always," Michael said with a wicked grin. "Though not at the moment. I want her to be able to contact Bruce."

"Can she hear us right now?" Natasha asked.

"No. She's way deep in our brains."

"So are she and Banner together yet?" Clint asked.

Michael snorted. "No. They haven't talked much except for sending each other funny texts every now and then since he left for India again."

"And I'm guessing it's the same for Arriana and Captain Courage."

Michael nodded. "Things aren't so good on that score." He waved aside the comment. "You'll understand when we explain. I'm guessing it'll make things worse with Bruce, too."

"Should we assume that's why the girls look underfed again?" Natasha asked.

He nodded. "They're trying really hard, but yeah, they're struggling to eat again."

"You look a little underfed too," Clint said. "How are you doing?"

"I'm okay," he shrugged as he sat down on the bench in the elevator and pulled Lizzy down next to him. "Not great, but okay."

Clint moved around to stand in front of him. "Honest?"

Michael nodded. "Honest."

"Okay."

Lizzy jolted back to herself suddenly. "Oh, Jarvis, let Arri know we're coming up."

"Yes, ma'am."

Loki glanced over from the pot he was stirring at the small sniffle. "Arriana, my pet, are you alright?"

"I'm fine," she said, her voice clearly straining for what little feigned calm she was managing.

He abandoned his task and slid up behind her, brushing his fingers down her arms. "What is it, my darling?" he cooed.

Tears burst their banks. She spun around and buried her face in his chest. "I'm fine!"

"Shhh... it's alright, my pet." He wrapped her in his arms, holding her as tightly as he dared, always afraid his powerful build would hurt one of his precious, fragile Midgardian loves. "What is it, my love? Tell me."

"I don't know," she gasped. "I don't know. There's so much anger. So much sadness. I can't face it. It's crushing me."

Tani trotted over and nudged her leg, whimpering softly. When she didn't immediately receive pets, Tani sat and leaned all her weight against her leg.

Loki pressed her head to his chest, stroking her hair. "It is moments like these that I curse your powers for hurting you so."

"Mr. Loki, sir..."

"What is it, Jarvis?" He hushed and cooed to Arriana as she sobbed into his chest.

"Ms. Lizzy wanted me to inform you that they are returning to this floor with Agents Barton and Romanoff to see Ms. Arriana."

"How long?"

"Moments, sir."

"Thank you." He pressed a kiss to her hair as the elevator dinged. My pet, he cooed in her mind, I have cloaked myself. So do not worry. But you must stand as if I am not here. He nudged her to stand a little straighter and lean back against the counter.

"Arri?" Michael called.

Tani yipped and whimpered, but didn't leave her side.

Arriana fought to take a deep breath and steady her voice. "In here."

All four burst in the next moment.

"What's wrong, detka?" Natasha asked, hurrying over to her.

Loki leaped back as Natasha wrapped her arms around Arriana. He nearly tripped as he leaped to the side as Clint raced to her.

"I'm okay," she whimpered.

"It's alright to cry, Carebear," Clint said, stroking her hair.

Lizzy and Michael glanced over to the corner where Loki had taken refuge. Meowing overhead made them look up. Munchkin was on top of the cabinets, pawing at Loki, whether able to see him or just aware of his presence there, and meowing to be picked up. Loki rolled his eyes and motioned out the archway to the butler's pantry. They nodded. He disappeared through the doorway. Munchkin looked around for a moment, and then started yowling into the void as he wandered the kitchen. A moment later, Loki wandered up behind them.

What's wrong? Lizzy asked in their minds.

Emotions are running high. Her powers are overwhelming her.

Poor thing, Michael sighed. Steve and Tony are at each other's throats, she's missing Steve, he's all depressed and moping about her, and then we're all worried. Thor's probably the only one not adding to the emotional spike.

Not necessarily, Loki said. Being back on Midgard will make him think of her.

Her who? Lizzy asked.

Jane Foster. He's sure he'll never see her again.

Super! So literally everyone's emotions are dumping on her, Michael said.

Lizzy shook her head, arms crossing. And now we're going to have to go through every detail of why and how we broke a fugitive out of jail.

Not to mention all of us fell in love with him and now we're all banging the villain. Michael ran a hand through his hair. Oh, yeah, this is going great. I'm sure we won't all end up dead.

Loki's breath caught and he pulled both of them back against him. Please don't say that, my love. Please. I swear I will protect you. I will give everything to keep you safe.

Sorry, sweetheart, Michael sighed. I didn't mean it. We are likely to come out okay. We'll probably just have to stay here for a while and everything will blow over. He glanced at Lizzy, but they neither said nor thought any of doubts that filled them.

"Sdelay gluboky vdokh, detka," Natasha cooed. (Take a deep breath, baby)

Arriana fought to obey, years of training battling with the overwhelming power of the emotions swirling inside her.

"I can beat him up for you," Clint said.

A watery laugh burst through.

"No, you couldn't," she giggled.

"Well, I can shoot him."

"Well, I don't want you to." The smile faltered. "And it wouldn't help. That's not what this is anyway."

"You're telling me Cap has nothing to do with these tears?" Clint said, pressing his thumb across her wet cheeks.

"Not... not all of it," she said with a shrug.

"I still wanna shoot him." He looked at Natasha. "Can I shoot him?"

"No." She shot a teasing glare at him. "Besides, it won't help anything. She's not going to be less upset if he's dead."

"No, but I'll feel better."

Natasha whacked him upside the head. "No, Clint."

"I'm just saying." He shrugged and continued to stroke Arriana's hair while she cried into Natasha's shoulder. He glanced over at the other two as they stood, arms crossed and looking anywhere but at their sobbing Arriana, and nodded toward their little huddle. "Come here, you two."

Loki nudged them forward. Go. I'll be here.

They hurried around the island and dove into the pile.

Clint and Natasha wrapped their arms around all three, exchanging knowing glances that if Coulson had been there, he would've cuddled them up and made them feel better. But Coulson wasn't there and they were the only ones left to take care of their triplets.


	8. Chapter 8

The light flickered overhead below the red, white, and blue sign of the bowling alley. The street was still busy with traffic. Across the street the little post office was dark, but laughter and talk flowed from the barbershop next door. Faint music filtered through the hot, sweltering summer air from the Mexican restaurant down the street.

Fury paused outside the ring of light and pulled up the hood of the Yankees sweatshirt he wore, hoping the bandaging around the gunshot wound in his arm would hold.

"Fuckin' Wilson. Had to be one of my few reliable shots," he muttered. Course, you'd just remind me he isn't one of my good shots since I'm still alive, wouldn't you, Coulson?

He started down the street, hands stuffed in his pocket to conceal his SIG Sauer, his eye darting into every dark corner. He kept his pace fast, but casual, taking a turn every few blocks as he made his way toward the Hoboken ferry. He paused at the bakery before he turned onto the footpath that would take him past the train tracks and open parking lots. Unable to keep waiting by the closed bakery, he jogged down the stairs, across the road, and down the footpath.

The footsteps he'd been waiting for joined him down the footpath. He kept his pace, seemingly paying no attention. The steps were far enough back that he didn't want to assume it was an assassin. When they hadn't turned off by the time he got to Willow Ave, he knew they wanted him to lead them to the Avengers.

"Not today, motherfucker," he muttered.

Fury paused for a moment, glanced around, and disappeared down the next alley. He jogged a few steps and slipped behind a dumpster a moment before the footsteps echoed into the alley.

"Yes, sir. I'm tracking him north parallel to Garden Street. It looks like he's heading to Harborside Park." The footsteps jogged closer.

Shaking his head at the stupidity, Fury waited around the corner. The agent rounded the corner at speed.

"Goodnight, motherfucker." He punched him dead in the face, leveling him to the ground.

The agent opened his mouth to call for back up, but Fury dropped, knee-first, onto his solar plex. A soft grunt was the last sound the agent made. Fury snapped his windpipe.

He let a sigh slip out as he removed the insignia and weapons.

"Why the hell'd you have to do this, Strom?"

Tearing his clothes and planting an empty bag laced with traces of heroin, Fury shifted the body under the dumpster. Pocketing everything and glancing at his watch, he retraced his steps and then continued toward the ferry in as straight a line as possible. He saw two men heading north up the streets. Once they were out of sight, he broke into a run to make it on the 9:43pm ferry.

"Sir, Dr. Banner is five minutes from landing."

"Thank you, Jarvis. Let Lizzy know so she can calm him down."

"Yes, sir."

Tony pulled image after image out of the data he'd pirated from SHIELD's files. Data swept passed his eyes. He glanced through his screens at Steve who had stood motionless in front of the map for the last hour. Damn idiot. He's even more self-righteous than I thought. I swear if Arriana ends up sick because of him, I'm going to kill him. He turned back to the screens. There it is. That's exactly what I'm looking for. Fury, you sly dog.

Bruce sat bolt upright, blinking around him. The flight attendant stood in the doorway of the cockpit.

"We'll be landing in just a minute, Dr. Banner."

"Oh, uh... yes, thank you."

"There's a car waiting for you as soon as we land."

"Thank you." He shook himself, trying dislodge the last memories of his nightmares.

The plane gave a gentle bump. He peered out the window, but he could only see lights in the distance. Everything was dark near the plane. As the flight attendant swept back in, he unbuckled and grabbed his bag. She pushed the door open as soon as he was ready.

Bruce stepped out onto the stairs, glancing around him. Then he hurried down, not wanting to be such an easy target. I'm okay. Everything's okay. Nothing's going to happen. Lizzy said everything was fine, and she wouldn't lie to me.

"Welcome back, Dr. Banner."

Bruce spun toward the sound. "Oh," he sighed. "Hi, Happy. Is everything okay?"

"Yes, sir. I'm here to pick you up." He gestured toward the SUV behind him. "We should get going. Everyone's waiting for you. And Mr. Stark informed me that if I didn't get you back in a timely manner I would get to answer to Ms. Lizzy myself."

Bruce managed a smile. "Well, I don't want to make everyone wait."

Happy popped open the door and waited for Bruce to climb in, and then jumped into the driver's seat.

"Why is it so dark over here?"

"Just a precaution," he said, glancing in his rearview mirror as the windshield lit up green like night-vision goggles. "Mr. Stark has been keeping today's movements as secret as possible, just in case."

"Ah." It didn't do much to calm his pounding heart, but he just kept reminding himself that if there had been any real cause for concern, Lizzy would have told him.

Arriana leaned against Clint's shoulder as they all headed up to the Party Deck, still sniffling slightly.

The elevator doors slid open.

Tony looked up over the ring of screens. "Hey. Bruce should be here in about 25 minutes."

"Jarvis said he'd landed," Lizzy said.

"I've cleared traffic on his route, so he'll be here as fast as I can make it happen."

"Thank you, Tony." She wandered over to him, through the screens, and hugged him.

He squeezed her arms as they wrapped around his shoulders from behind. "It's gonna be okay, kiddo. I promise."

"Yeah, I know." She buried her face in his neck, certain that Bruce didn't and could never love her, but also that she was about to lose him as a friend.

Arriana watched Steve as he stood by the windows. He had barely glanced over when they came in. She wrapped her arms around herself. The core of her body began to ache.

Michael wrapped an arm around her. Hey, it's gonna be okay. I promise. I don't know how, but I know it will be.

I don't know what you mean, she sighed, no longer bothering to sound convincing.

He hugged her. Loki slid up behind them, wrapping his arms around them both.

Clint and Natasha glanced at each other, and then at Arriana and Steve. They wandered over to the bar.

"Why is he suddenly ignoring her?" Clint said.

"I know. It's like she killed his puppy or something." Natasha poured them both drinks. "It's definitely Rogers that feels injured."

"Yeah, Arriana's feelings haven't changed, but what the hell would he have against her?"

"Obviously something the triplets think Bruce will hold against Lizzy, too."

Clint sipped the tequila sunrise she'd handed him. "I wanna shoot 'em. Can I shoot them, please, Nat?"

"No."

"Please? They're making our triplets sad."

"No."

He grumbled into his drink. "Coulson would've shot them by now."

She rolled her eyes. "No, he wouldn't. It would only hurt them more."

"I'd feel better."

"I don't care. You get to feel good enough." She grazed a finger down his spine. He shivered. "Now behave. The fact is Coulson isn't here anymore. So they need us to be there for them."

"I know." He sighed. "Do you have any guesses what their secret might be?"

"They went to Asgard, what else?" She quirked a brow at him.

He narrowed his eyes, fighting the sneer that twisted his face. "Loki."

"Don't overreact." Natasha pushed away from the counter. "We don't know exactly what's going on or even if it does involve Loki. There could be something going on with Thor."

"Do you think Arriana's with Thor?" he said.

"That might account for Steve being upset, but not why they're afraid Bruce will be upset with Lizzy. Thor is somewhat Arriana's type, but he's definitely not Lizzy's type."

Clint snorted. "Oh, god, can you imagine?"

"She'd kill him." Natasha smiled to herself as she poured vodka into a glass, a squeeze of lime, and filled with ginger beer. "We need to kill the tension as much as we can. Arriana's already feeling the strain and it's not likely to get better after the briefing." Clint nodded. She took a sip of her drink. "God, Stark, this is good vodka. And since when does anyone ever have ginger beer?"

He glanced up from the screens. "I keep a full bar on this floor and the arcade and theater floor."

"Arcade?" Clint said. "You know what? I'm not even surprised."

"Is there really a waterpark?" Natasha asked.

"Unfortunately, yes." Pepper walked out of the elevator. "Agent Barton, Agent Romanoff, how are you?" She paused to hug and kiss them. "Was your flight alright?"

"Just fine," Natasha said. "We flew high enough we saw very little traffic."

"I'm glad to hear it." She glanced over at Tony. "Is Bruce doing alright?"

"Uneventful flight and his route is cleared," he said. "Lizzy's been in contact with him. That's the best I can do."

"Well, that's good." Pepper smiled at Lizzy. "Were you planning on showing him his floor?"

"Maybe Tony wants to," Lizzy said with a shrug.

Tony took her hand and kissed it. "Can't, kiddo. I've got to finish this up before we start the briefing." He glanced at the now magnified map of New York as Bruce's green dot moved steadily closer.

"You really should show him his floor before debriefing," Arriana piped up.

"Any particular reason?" Clint asked.

"He might need a place to go cool off afterward and our floors might not be somewhere he wants to be," she said, looking significantly at Lizzy. "It would be good for him to have somewhere he feels safe and undisturbed."

She nodded.

Tony glanced between them, and then wrapped an arm around Lizzy's waist. "It would also buy me some time to finish this up. If you don't mind."

"You know I don't, Tony." She bent and gave him a peck on the cheek.

"Dr. Banner is five minutes out, sir," Jarvis said.

"Gotcha, J. Increase surveillance to one sweep every ten seconds. Give two inch clearance on entrance and drop the door in less than 2 seconds."

"Yes, sir."

"I'll go down to meet him," Lizzy said. "How long do you need, Tony?"

He glanced at his watch. "Give me half an hour. I should have everything ready by then."

"What are you working on anyway?" Michael asked.

"You'll find out at the debriefing. It's a long story of its own."

"What did you do, Tony?" Pepper asked, planting a hand on her hip.

His brows rose. "Nothing." He shrugged. "For once. This is me finding out what other people have done."

Lizzy headed for the elevators.

"Do you want anyone to come with you?" Natasha asked.

"No, I'm good." She managed a smile. "The less people there are, the less stressed he'll be when he's just getting in."

They nodded and watched the elevator doors close. Clint and Natasha went back to watching Arriana and Steve. He still stood staring through the map, and Arriana had curled up on the couch with Michael.

The elevator dinged and they all turned. Thor stopped short and gave them all a wide grin.

"Am I interrupting?" he chuckled. "Jarvis informed me that Dr. Banner would soon arrive."

"You're fine, Point Break." Tony flicked a few screens out of his way and pulled several more into view.

"Hi, Thor," Pepper said with a smile. "Bruce should be here in just a couple minutes. Lizzy's going to show him his floor and then we're going to start our meeting."

Tony smiled to himself. "Grab a drink and have a seat."

"Thank you, Stark." Thor looked around with a frown and opened his mouth to speak.

With a soft gasp, Loki slid from around Arriana and Michael and leaped across the room until he was behind Thor, unable to materialize an invisible image of himself. Leaning in close to his ear, he hissed, "Speak my name and I will stab you with every dagger I possess."

Thor closed his mouth.

"Let the triplets reveal my presence or you could very well get us all killed. Don't repeat your mistake of the Jotunheim battle." Seeing Thor nod, Loki returned to his place cuddling Arriana and Michael.

"Dr. Banner has arrived," Jarvis said.

"Secure perimeter and seal the tower, Jarvis," Tony said. "Cut off power, water, and sewer. Move to full airlock. Raise communication restriction to level 5."

"Done, sir."

"Thank you, Jarvis." Tony stood and moved to the map sprayed across the windows. "We're on full lockdown now. Nothing goes in or out." He spread his hands over the map and moved them away from each other, zooming the map in until the ground directly surrounding the tower was perfectly visible. He drew his finger over the outline of the tower and grabbed at the air. A ball of light glowed in his hand. He tossed it into the center of the seating area. A hologram of the full tower and all movement around it appeared. "We can watch the ground and airspace. Jarvis is in constant scanning mode."

"Can your systems pick up suspicious activity?" Natasha asked.

"Jarvis can detect so much as a drug deal. But it wouldn't hurt to have you and the triplets watch for now. You might recognize someone before they start acting suspicious."

Natasha and Clint nodded and moved to sit opposite Michael and Arriana. Thor poured himself a drink and one for Steve, and then joined him by the ground-view map.


	9. Chapter 9

The empty ferry docked. Fury glanced around and wandered off the boat and up the dock as casually as possible, unable to blend into the safety of a crowd. Every sense prickled. His arm throbbed with every thudding heartbeat and he could feel the bandaging growing wet. Fucking Strom. His eye jumped back and forth, searching every shadow, his ears alert for the barest scurry which he knew would very soon do nothing for him as the hustle and bustle of the city that never sleeps overtook every helpful sound.

He fought to keep his pace steady. With the pier to one side and a lot full of parked buses to his right, it was an ideal targeting location. Everything depended on his abilities to throw SHIELD off his scent, and the fact that he had been tracked in Newark of all places told him SHIELD was in full deployment in the area. They knew he was on the move. The question remained – were they safe? In the end, that was all that mattered. Were his team safe?

What I wouldn't give to have Coulson to watch over them right now. He skirted the Chinese consulate, hoping to avoid being caught on their cameras. He turned right on 44th street, picking up his pace to a jog past the parking structure and mini-storage. As he passed 11th Avenue, traffic picked up and he slowed to a walk again.

Fury wove in and out of the trickle of people. This would've been so much easier when school was letting out. Not that a giant-ass black man disappears well in a sea of kids, but they're less likely to shoot, and at the moment, I'll take that.

He took a left on 10th Avenue to stay near restaurants, hoping to use what crowds there were for cover. Had to fucking do this on a Monday, didn't you, you bastards? He jogged a little faster to fall in step with a group coming out of a health club. If he was lucky, he'd be able to take advantage of the theater crowds heading for restaurants and bars for most of the remaining distance to Stark Tower. The challenge would be getting close enough to the building to find a way in. And I have enough faith in Stark to have that place locked down like a motherfucking impenetrable fortress.

Traffic picked up to a steady stream, and Fury breathed a little more freely as he wove his way in and out of laughing groups and harried third shift workers, all blithely ignorant to the danger that could be following him. His ears waited for the sound of gunfire or a voice suddenly behind him.

His head grew light as he jogged up 8th Avenue to 45th again to pass the cluster of theaters. He glanced around as he entered Times Square. It was tempting to grab a cab. The likelihood that he'd be found was low, as was his energy. The slow bleed of the last almost sixteen hours had taken its toll and as he moved now he bled faster, but there was nothing he could do about it. And he wasn't going to put an innocent cab driver at risk just to move a little faster.

Turning north on 6th Avenue, he hurried up a few blocks, hoping to throw them off where he was headed. He tried to move quickly but casually, knowing a large black man with an eyepatch wasn't going to go unnoticed in the posh parts of Manhattan. The fact that he was actually concealing a gun in his pocket didn't make the situation any better.

With Saks on the left side of the street, he passed the doorway of an apartment building.

"Director Fury, what are you doing here?"

He spun around, his finger leaping to the trigger of his SIG Sauer. His arm throbbed. "Identify, Agent."

"Agent Mosley, sir," the man said immediately. "ID number 601417592. How can I be of service, sir?"

Fury slowly moved closer, sighing deeply. "I gotta train my agents better."

"Sir?" He frowned, glancing back and forth.

"Never identify yourself when on assignment." He stepped right up to the man, fighting to keep his head from spinning off into space. "And never call out a superior."

Mosley's face fell. He made a grab for Fury's injured arm.

Pain searing through his bicep, Fury knocked his hand away. "Unless of course that man is your assignment."

With a soft pop, the man fell. He glanced around, knowing he had seconds. Grabbing the agent's gun and ID, he hurried down the street, disappearing around the corner down Madison Avenue.

Traffic was jammed in every direction. Great, just what I need. Everything at a standstill, so I'm the dumb-ass lone duck who decides to fly. His head spun, making his stagger.

Disapproving glares and hisses of "drunks" followed him, but he kept moving as straight as he could. He nearly lost his balance as the noise of backed-up traffic suddenly opened up to the foreign sound of a soft hum of smooth sailing on Park Avenue. And this is worse. Giving himself a shake, he hurried down the street, jogging through the Park Avenue tunnel. Time was now of the essence, and if Mosley had managed to radio in, it didn't matter what he did – SHIELD would know where he was going.

Fury's head swam, but he forced himself forward. Hearing the rattle of a truck below, he vaulted the guard wall and managed to land on the tail end of the UPS truck and jump off again, rolling as he hit the ground. Blood now freely flowing from his gunshot wound, he dragged himself to his feet and raced down 45th Street to the maintenance entrance of Stark Tower.

To his surprise, the door slid open as he closed the distance. He threw himself inside as the world went black.

"What is that?" Thor said, pointing at the map.

Steve shook himself and leaned closer. "Someone's coming through the Park Avenue tunnel fast."

Tony launched out of his chair. "Jarvis, give me any visual."

A screen popped up behind Steve and Thor.

"They're moving fast but not steady," Steve said.

Natasha and Clint leaped to their feet.

"Give me a still," Clint said. He squinted at it. "It's Fury. Get him in here."

"He's bleeding from his arm," Steve said.

"Wait, are we sure?" Tony said. "I'm not opening the door until we're sure."

"It's Fury," Natasha said.

"Arri, Michael..." Tony spun around. "Sound them out."

They grabbed each other's hands and closed their eyes, throwing their consciousness down the tower.

"There's so much going on," Arriana said. "I'm just feeling everything all at once."

Michael dove from vision to vision, searching for the person they were looking for. "Where are they? Someone talk to me."

"They're on Park Avenue... nope, jumped down to 45th Street," Tony said.

"That's Fury and he's hurt," Natasha hissed. "Open a damn door."

"No!" Tony barked. "He's on 45th heading toward Lexington. In a... looks like a Yankee's sweatshirt. Hood up."

Michael flipped through person after person, looking for their target. "Got him! Arri, follow."

She gripped his mind and he tossed her toward the person he was watching.

"There's too much fear and anxiety." She growled out a cry.

"We're running out of time," Clint said.

"Feel it now, detka," Natasha shot.

"Everyone stop feeling upset!" Arriana screeched. The air cleared and she flew forward into the mind of their target. "It's him!" she shouted. "Open the door. He's dying."

"Jarvis, open the maintenance entry door in time with approach," Tony barked. They watched the figure throw himself through the door. "Close it now!"

The door slammed shut.

The room fell silent. Only their collective panting hushed through the air.

"We need to move," Clint said. "Stark, do you have a field kit closer than our floors?"

"The infirmary," Tony said. "Stay here, Pepper." She nodded and took his drink from him.

Natasha and Clint were already moving toward the elevators.

"Triplets, pull back," Natasha called. "We need to go."

Loki gripped them, reaching into their shared mind and helping to pull them back to themselves. They glanced back at him with a slight nod as they launched to their feet. He leaped over the couch to follow.

They all raced into the elevator. Michael sat on Loki's lap to camouflage his presence. Arriana stood near, hoping no one would notice Michael was sitting higher than usual.

"Emergency descent, Jarvis," Tony said, dropping onto the bench and grabbing the edge. "Hang on."

The elevator rapidly began moving down. In half a second it picked up speed, and then with a jolt it fell.

Everyone reached for a wall. Thor caught Clint who had pushed Natasha onto the bench. Arriana lurched forward before she could catch herself. Steve caught her, pulling her against him.

They fell.

"When does this end, Stark?" Steve called over their thundering heartbeats.

"It's sixty seconds from drop," Tony panted. "Jarvis, countdown."

"Thirty-seven seconds remaining," Jarvis said.

"Jesus Christ," Natasha hissed.

"It'll settle out in a few seconds," Tony said.

"Thirty seconds remaining."

Slowly they shook themselves one by one as they acclimated to the fall, though the weightlessness made it difficult to move. Steve leaned back against the wall, unthinkingly keeping Arriana against him.

"Twenty seconds remaining."

Their ears started popping.

"Ten seconds remaining."

"Everybody hang on," Tony said.

They had seconds to brace themselves. Steve tightened his arms around Arriana.

Like reigns pulling up on a runaway horse, the elevator suddenly slowed. Steve slid to the floor with a thud, holding Arriana safely on top of him. They looked up into each other's eyes for one moment before everything came to rest. Arriana's heart pounded in her throat.

"Pognali, detka," Natasha said, fighting to her feet past Clint and Thor. (let's go, baby)

Loki pushed Michael to his feet. It tore at his heart to watch Arriana force herself away from Steve, but she obediently took Michael's hand and raced out of the elevator after the others.

Steve shook himself, pounding his fist on the floor, and raced after them.

Loki stayed where he was. "Hold the elevator here, Jarvis," he said quietly. "And have another ready, just in case."

"Yes, sir."

Tony led the way through the maze of halls. "Jarvis, clear the path."

Doors opened as they ran.

"I can feel him," Arriana said. "He's still alive, just unconscious."

The final airlock opened to the maintenance entry. Fury lay face down on the floor, the shoulder and arm of his sweatshirt stained dark with blood.

Clint pushed him onto his back and Natasha yanked the sweatshirt open.

"It's not a fatal wound," Natasha said. "It's got to be blood loss."

"We need to get him to a hospital, he needs a transfusion." Clint reached for the entry door.

"Don't open that door!" Tony said. "I have blood."

"You what?"

"Questions later," Steve barked. "Thor."

With a nod, Thor stepped around Natasha, bent, and lifted Fury with ease. "Lead the way. I can move at speed."

Steve leaped back. "Stark."

Tony jogged back into the labyrinth with Thor on his heels and everyone else behind.

A surge of emotion jolted through them.

"Hang on, Arri," Michael said, grabbing her by the hand. "He'll be okay."

"I'm trying," she said, her voice shaking. "I can't..." Her breath caught. "Not Fury too."

Natasha spun around as they ran. "Vy soldat. Bez slez." (You are a soldier. No tears.)

Pain tore through their bodies for a moment and then disappeared.

Arriana's eyes went cold, and with it, the air around them. "Da, mem." (Yes, ma'am)

"Khoroshaya devushka." (Good girl)

They raced through hall after hall back to the elevators. Steve glanced behind them to see doors closing and robots waking up and moving to where they had just been. It was then he noticed the blood dripping from Fury's shoulder.

"He's still bleeding fast," Steve said.

"Jarvis, get a second elevator ready," Tony said.

"Done, sir."

Tony almost stopped short. "G-good." He turned the corner. "Straight ahead."

"Thor, Barton, Romanoff, Stark in one," Steve shouted, "the rest in two."

Hearing the called orders, Loki slipped into the second elevator and tucked himself out of the way.

"Put him down, Thor," Natasha ordered as soon as they were in the elevator. She pressed down on Fury's wound, leaning her full body weight against the bleed.

Arriana and Michael shifted in front of Loki as Steve got in the elevator.

As soon as the doors closed, he said, "I know he's here."

"I mean no harm, Captain," came the disembodied voice.

"Thank you for getting the elevators ready," was all he said in return.

The elevators gained speed as they rose.

"Where are we going when we get to the right level?" Clint asked.

"Take a right out of the elevator and then a left out of the entry," Tony said. "Jarvis, get OR 1 ready and get a bed to the entry."

"Preparations ongoing, sir. Pirated files show a blood type of O positive."

"Do we have any live?"

"Yes, sir," Jarvis said. "I have three units of O positive in refrigeration, ready for use. More can be made available within the next four hours, sir."

"How much do you need?" Tony asked, looking between Clint and Natasha.

"Well, he's out, so we're likely at about 40% loss," Clint said.

"We don't usually run the transfusions, Stark," Natasha said. "We stop the bleed and get them to doctors."

Tony snapped his fingers. "Jarvis, get Lizzy and Banner to the infirmary now."

"Yes, sir."

"Forgot we have a doctor."

The elevator slowed rapidly and the doors slid open. Natasha shifted slightly to the side, pinching Fury's shoulder between her hands, and Thor picked him up. A hospital bed sat just outside the doors and as soon as Thor set him down, Natasha climbed onto the bed, putting her full weight on the wound again.

Thor began pushing the bed with Clint steering as they followed Tony.

"Do we have everything ready?" Steve called as they raced out of their elevator.

"Banner's on the way, Cap," Tony called back.

Michael and Arriana ran at top speed to catch up with them.

"Does Lizzy know?" Michael asked.

"I let them both know."

"What did you say?"

"Jarvis let them know we need them now on the infirmary. That Fury's here."

The two rolled their eyes. Michael grabbed Arrriana's shoulder and slid into their shared brain.

Lizzy, where are you? He asked.

In the elevator. What's going on?

Fury's here. He has a bleeding wound on his left shoulder or arm. I couldn't tell; there was too much blood. He's unconscious.

Bruce is with me.

We're heading for OR 1.

Thanks. Lizzy gave her head a slight shake. "Bruce, Fury has a bleeding wound on his left shoulder or arm. He's unconscious. They're taking him to OR 1."

"Jarvis, do we have live blood?" Bruce asked.

"Yes, sir. Three units are immediately available. Would you like me to thaw more?"

"No. Three should be plenty. What type is he?"

"According to SHIELD records, he is O positive."

Bruce let a sigh slip out. "Thank god. He shouldn't have trouble with a transfusion." The doors opened. "Where's OR 1?"

"This way." Lizzy ran out of the entry and down the corridor with Bruce on her heels.

She pushed the door of the OR open. The bed with Fury, and Natasha still keeping pressure on the wound, was in place. Clint was starting oxygen, Michael was hooking up the blood pressure cuff, and Arriana was at the cabinets gathering things onto a tray.

"Who has training?" Bruce asked as soon as he was in the room. He rolled up his sleeves, stopping at the sink to scrub in.


	10. Chapter 10

"Tony, is everything alright?" Pepper asked as he settled back behind his veil of screens when he returned.

"Yeah. He'll be fine. He passed out from blood loss from a bullet wound. Bruce got the bullet out, patched him up, and dumped a couple units of blood into him."

"Did we have enough ready?"

"Yeah. He's O positive, so we're good."

"Do we have enough overall? I know we've been storing up, but it takes hours to thaw blood from frozen. Should we keep some unfrozen?"

Tony was quiet for a moment. "I'm not going to thaw any at the moment. It only lasts 42 days in refrigeration. I don't know how long we'll be here, but it'll probably be more than 42 days."

"But if a fight or something happens..."

"We can always pull from any healthy people. The triplets are all O positive, which is pretty much the universal."

"I know, but if they're the ones injured..."

He let a sigh slowly slip out as he stared past her. Finally he said, "Fair." He sat forward. "Jarvis, show me our current blood stock." A new screen popped up. "We can replenish as necessary... Okay, Jarvis, give me a total of three units O positive at the ready. In twenty-one days, add another three units." He looked back at Pepper. "Sound good?"

She smiled and bent to kiss him. "I think that's perfect. We'll have six units at the ready at all times, but we won't be wasting it quite so fast."

He pulled her into his lap, lingering on her lips for a moment, and then leaned his head against hers. "We're going to be okay. I promise."

"I know." She wrapped her arms around him. "We have everyone here now. That was the most dangerous part."

He gave a harsh laugh. "I wish I could agree with that."

"Why? What's going on?"

"Not yet," he said, kissing her again. "I need to finish getting the information together."

"Anything I can do?" Pepper ran her fingers through his hair.

A smile lifted the corner of his mouth. He took her hand and brought it to his lips. "If you wouldn't mind checking if Arriana's got food ready and maybe figuring out some coffee for us. This isn't going to be a quick meeting,"

She smiled and kissed him again. "Will that be all, Mr. Stark?"

He groaned softly. "That'll be all, Ms. Potts."

She got up and headed for the coffee maker at the bar. Tony sat staring after her for a few moments, and then shook himself and returned to his screens.

Steve wandered over to the bar. "Is there anything I can help with, Ms. Potts?"

She gave him a smile. "You can call me Pepper." She put a large thermos pot under the spout of the coffee maker. "I don't think there's anything I need help with. Do you know if Arriana was cooking?"

"I, uh, I think so. I know she went downstairs with the intent to make food."

"Didn't you go down with her?" She glanced over at him in between selecting options on the coffee maker.

"Uh, no, ma'am, I didn't."

Pepper frowned slightly. "Oh, okay. Jarvis, did Arriana make anything?"

"Yes, ma'am," Jarvis said. "There will be chili and cornbread, pot roast and fresh baked bread, as well as two-layer chocolate espresso cake."

She laughed. "You had to restrain her, didn't you?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Is she on her floors?"

"Not yet, ma'am. The triplets are still assisting Dr. Banner."

"Let me know when she's available, please."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Thank you, Jarvis." She glanced over at Steve again, who stood with his hands behind his back looking from one side of the room to the other. "Actually, Captain Rogers..."

"Steve, please."

She nodded. "Steve, would you make sure there's enough places for everyone to comfortably sit? We'll have thirteen if Director Fury comes up."

"I believe he intended to. I'd be happy to help."

"There are more couches and chairs spread out around the floor."

Steve nodded and turned to find another couch or two.

Natasha dropped onto the bench, arms resting on her knees and staring intensely at the floor.

Clint sat down next to her, putting an arm around her. "He'll be fine."

"I know, but if something happens to the director, the triplets are left entirely to us to take care of."

"They're not little kids anymore, Nat. SHIELD at this point is of no use to us or the triplets, so there's not a chain of command to worry about."

"No, just keeping them alive," she said, leaping to her feet and pacing back and forth. She looked down. "Oh, dammit. I'm covered in blood."

"Well, let's stop at your floor. You can take a shower. Fury won't be let out of the infirmary for at least half hour or so." She gave a single nod. "Jarvis, take us to Agent Romanoff's floor, please."

"Yes, sir."

They sat in silence as the elevator rose through the tower at a normal pace again. It slowed to a stop and the doors slid open. Natasha got up and started out the doors.

"Do you want to be alone?" Clint asked, still sitting where he was.

She stopped and stood silently for a moment. "No," she whispered.

He got up and followed her. She slowed to a stop as they came to the fountain. The splashing water echoed off the gilded walls and ceiling high above.

She looked around for a moment. "Chto delayet krest'yanka-sirota vo dvortse iz zolata?" she whispered. (What does an orphan peasant do in a palace of gold?)

Clint watched her for a moment and then said, "Ona delayet imenno tak, kak yey nravitsya." (She does exactly as she likes.)

With a soft gasp, Natasha spun around, grabbed the vest of his suit, pulled him to her, and devoured his mouth. She pressed hard against his body, desperate to feel real, to feel anything – pain or pleasure – so long as the screaming emptiness was quiet for a moment.

Clint groaned and wrapped his arms around her, letting his hand slide up and tangle in her short, silken hair. Feeling what she needed, he tightened his hand and pressed his tongue deep into her mouth. She moaned softly and reached up, grabbing him by his hair and yanking his head back. A groan tore through him as her hot mouth dropped to his neck, vacillating between soft kisses and sharp nips, dragging her teeth across his skin over and over again.

His hands slid down, gripping her hips and forcing her hard against him. She released her grip on his hair and began yanking at his clothes, fighting to undo the straps of his bulletproof vest and get to the zipper of his suit. He ducked his head and captured her mouth, desperate for the softness of her lips.

Natasha pushed him back to the wall. He groaned as she pressed against him, thrusting her tongue into his mouth. Finally releasing the last strap of his vest, she shoved it off his shoulders and yanked the zipper down, her hands instantly leaping to his bare chest.

Somewhere in the back of his mind, Clint vaguely recalled she needed a shower. He slid his hands back, gripping her ass, and lifted her. With a soft growl, she wrapped her legs around his waist as she forced his suit down, trapping his arms.

He laughed softly through their kiss and shifted her weight onto one arm, slid his arm out of his suit, and then did the same with the other as he began stumbling toward her bedroom. She gripped his hair again and dragged her teeth over his lower lip.

Clint groaned as he staggered into the bedroom door, which swung open with ease. He pushed them away from the wall, inwardly cursing Stark for how far away everything was.

"How long do we have before they're done in the infirmary, Jarvis?" Clint asked, rubbing a towel over his hair.

"Approximately fifteen to twenty minutes, sir."

He grinned at Natasha. "Still counts as a quick shower."

She laughed and slapped his ass. "Fair enough." She wrapped a towel around herself and another around her hair. "Jarvis, where do we put dirty laundry?"

"The basket to your left, ma'am."

"Thank you." She gathered up both their suits and tossed them in.

Clint wrapped a towel around his waist and grabbed their boots. "I'm gonna go throw on some clothes," he said as he handed her boots to her. "I'll be up in a couple minutes."

"That's if you can figure out the closet."

He stopped short. "Aw, shit." He rolled his eyes. "Well, I'll be up as quick as I can."

"We should probably see if we can find some clothes for the director. I don't think he wants to go upstairs in the teddy bear paw hospital gown."

Clint snorted. "Oh, god, I'd pay big money for that."

"I don't feel like getting shot today," she said. A smile crept over her features. "But I can't deny I'd give almost anything to see that."

"I'll see what I can find."

"Excuse me, sir," Jarvis said.

"Yeah, Jarvis?"

"I have clothes available for Director Fury on Storage level 5, sir."

"Perfect. I'll go grab them when I'm done getting dressed."

"Yes, sir. I shall have them waiting."

Natasha pushed her closet doors open. "You might as well take our private stairs." She put her hand on the glass and rattled off the access number.

"Perfect." Clint grinned. He paused as he passed her and slid his arms around her. "You feeling a little better?"

She smiled. "Well, you're always pretty good medicine."

"Remember the prescription says take at least twice per day or as needed."

She managed a laugh. "I think it was more along the lines of use whenever convenient."

"That too." He leaned down and brushed a kiss to her ear. "Ya lyublyu vas." (I love you.)

For one moment, she leaned against him and buried her face in his neck. Then with a sigh, she pushed him away and slapped his ass. "Ty by luchshe." (You had better.)

He chuckled as he jogged into their hidden room and disappeared down the stairs.

She shook her head as she watched him, a smile lifting one corner of her mouth. "Jarvis, I need underwear, jeans, and a tank top."

"Yes, ma'am. Options are coming up on the menu now."

"Can I get anything for you, Director Fury?" Pepper asked as Bruce and Lizzy settled him on one of the couches with his legs elevated.

"I need a stiff drink."

"One drink," Bruce said. "So you better enjoy it."

Fury glared at him for a moment and then rolled his eye.

"What would you like?" Pepper said, a smile tugging at the corners of her lips.

"Whiskey, straight up."

She nodded and headed to the bar as the elevator dinged.

"I have food," Arriana called as she and Michael pushed carts out of the elevator.

A general cry of joy filled the room, and everyone except Steve moved to help her set the food out on the bar. He had returned to his place staring out the windows and hadn't budged since.

"Are you done, Tony?" Pepper asked. "Everything else is ready."

"Yup!" He clapped his hands and the screens vanished.

The 3-D map of the tower still sat in the center of the sitting area.

"Everyone grab food and drink and we'll get started," Tony said.

"Stay there, Director," Lizzy said. "I'll get you some food."

"Get me all the food. I haven't eaten since dinner last night." He leaned back on the couch.

"It's a good sign you have an appetite," Bruce said.

"You can't make me sick enough not to eat Arriana's cooking when I can get it."

Arriana smiled and dished up a heaping plate.

"Get some food and sit down," Michael said, giving Arriana a shove.

"I will," she said. "Just let me make sure..."

"No, no just." Lizzy gave her another shove. "Go. We'll make sure everyone gets food."

Arriana stood looking between them for a moment. What about Steve? She asked in their minds. And Loki.

I can't eat yet, anyway, Loki offered, stepping up behind her and running his hands down her arms. Floating food won't go unnoticed right now.

I'll get some for Steve, Michael said. Don't worry.

She sighed, rolled her eyes, and plunked herself down on a couch, arms still crossed over her chest.

The room buzzed as they gathered sustenance and each found a seat. Loki prowled invisibly behind the couch Arriana claimed for them.

Michael loaded a plate and headed for Steve. "Here you go, Cap."

"Oh, I'm not hungry, but thank you," he said, only glancing at him.

With an epic eyeroll, Michael shoved the plate into his hands. "I wasn't asking. Eat or I'll force you to." Steve opened his mouth to speak. "And I can force you." He spun on his heel and headed for their couch, where Lizzy handed him a plate filled with what looked like half the pot roast. "Oh, yeah!"

As everyone settled onto the couches, Fury glanced over at Steve. He shook his head and sighed. "Captain Rogers, please join us. I don't want to have to go over everything twice."

There was a pause. "Yes, sir." With a soft sigh, Steve turned and found an empty spot. The food smelled better than anything had in over a month. His stomach rumbled.

Thor chuckled. "You'd think I'd conjured a storm." He clapped Steve on the shoulder. "Feast, Captain. Everything is delicious. My compliments," he said, raising his glass to Arriana.

"Yeah, fanks, kiddo," Clint said around a mouthful.

She laughed. "You're welcome."

"Alright, down to business," Tony said, perching on the back of the couch beside Pepper. "We have a number of things to talk about. I want to lay down ground rules now, that everyone, and I do mean everyone, is expected to keep calm as we discuss. The last thing we need right now is to be trying to kill each other."

They all looked at each other, frowning. All except Steve, Thor, and the triplets.

Fury watched him closely. "What are you talking about, Stark?"

"Now that would be ruining the surprise, wouldn't it?" He took a long drink from his glass. "If anyone needs to step away to calm down, you're more than welcome to. You've all been shown your private floors. Director, you'll be staying on Guest level 5."

"You telling me everybody else has their own floor and I've got a guest room?" Fury asked.

Tony gave a short laugh. "Yeah, sorry, I didn't know you were going to invite yourself to our slumber party."

"Stark, get to the point," Steve said.

Tony opened his mouth to answer back, but Pepper subtly put a hand on his thigh. He took a deep breath. "Okay, there's three main things we have to go over. We obviously know the seven-eight code was called this morning. We'd like to know what you know, Director."

"It was about two hundred hours yesterday I was woken up by an alarm I set. Twelve agents rushed my room and tried to shoot me. I got out and headed for my first emergency bunker in Brooklyn."

"Why are you telling us where it is, sir?" Clint asked.

"Because you probably already knew about it, for one," Fury said. "And two, they know about it. So it's useless now."

"How many emergency bunkers do they know about, sir?" Natasha asked.

"At least half a dozen. At the Brooklyn bunker, I hacked into their systems to find out what I could. When I realized they knew about the bunker, I couldn't stay, I knew they wanted me dead, so that meant they likely wanted all of you dead, but I needed to know for sure. It was possible they were against me shooting down one of the jets that carried the nukes during the battle of New York."

"One of the jets?" Steve asked.

Fury nodded. "They scrambled two. I managed to shoot the first down, but I didn't anticipate the second, nor have the time to do anything about it."

"It appears it was by yet a narrower margin that we prevailed than even we thought," Thor said. "It is unfortunate you weren't able to stop the second."

"Would a nuke have stopped the aliens?" Steve asked.

"No," Thor said. "The Chitauri are veritably innumerable. It would have destroyed those in the city when the blast went off, but more would have come. And without us, the world would have been overrun in hours."

"Good to know," Fury growled. "I moved to the Bronx bunker and hacked into their systems again. Since the bunker was still unknown, I had time to dig around. They weren't just out for me. They want you all dead. And it goes deeper than that."

"Sir?" Natasha said.

Fury ran a hand over his face. "Captain Rogers, are you still familiar with the organization known as Hydra?"

Steve frowned. "Yeah, they were the organization I fought in World War Two. Schmidt was leading them. He was using the Tesseract to build weapons in an attempt to take over the world." He paused. "But I thought they were defeated."

"You stopped Schmidt, and that attempt. We thought they were gone."

"But?" the triplets said at once.

"But we were wrong. They've laid low. Moving in secret, and if I'm right, infiltrating SHIELD itself. Potentially from the very beginning."

Silence gripped the room.


	11. Chapter 11

It was Lizzy who broke the silence. "We really should've known. Hydra is the beast from Greek mythology that if you cut off one head, three more grow in its place."

"That was their creed," Steve said, gripping the arm of the couch until the wood creaked beneath his hand.

"Everyone calm down," Tony said. "We need to keep clear heads if we're going to stay alive long enough to take them down. Fury, do we know how deep it goes?"

"Not completely, but based on recent events, I would guess all the way to the top."

"The Council," Michael growled.

"And they've never liked us," Lizzy said. "Didn't want us to begin with."

Fury looked at them. "You were the first targets after they took me out."

"Why them?" Clint asked.

Fury gave a harsh laugh. "Isn't it obvious? They're the heart and soul of this whole team. None of you could work together for five minutes without them. They've been what this whole thing depended on."

"That's why you assigned us," Natasha said.

He shrugged. "It was also true that you and Barton were the most qualified to train them. But yeah, I had this plan a long time ago."

"That explains why you let me hang around," Tony said. "I wondered why you never had me hauled off the base when I first broke into their containment unit."

"It was hardly a containment unit, Stark," Fury said. "And I had to focus on keeping them alive. Comfort, unfortunately, had to come second."

"We'll argue about that later," Tony said. "So are they out for all of us?"

"Yes."

Bruce laughed. "I'm sorry. What, exactly, were their plans to kill me?"

Fury's gaze darkened. "I'm not sure you want to know."

"No, no, no." Bruce sat forward. "Tell me." His voice rose as he spoke. "What were they planning to do with me?"

"They were going to set off your alter-ego and use you as a convenient excuse to seize control. Plunging the world into planet-wide military occupation. They would quickly squash any resistance and within a year, have full and permanent control."

They all fell silent again.

"So we're all that stands between the freedom of the entire planet and an organization who we don't know how big it is, where it is, or how powerful it is?" Arriana said quietly.

"That's about the size of it," Fury said. "It was going to happen eventually, but your actions during the Battle of New York were a convenient excuse."

Loki crouched behind the couch, pressing his hands to his face, desperately wishing the fall into the broken Bifrost had killed him.

Don't leave us, please, Arriana said in their shared mind.

He shook his head as tears blurred his vision. I would never leave, could never leave you. But, by the gods, I am sorry.

Tony sighed and ran his hands over his face. "Anything else we need to know right now? We have a couple other things to go over."

Fury shook his head. "That about sums it up."

"Good." Tony watched the triplets for a moment. "Well, what do you want to do?"

They looked between each other.

Should we just keep Loki a secret? Michael asked.

Steve already knows, Arriana said. He'll want an explanation.

And we might need Loki, Lizzy said. This isn't going to blow over, and we'll need all hands on deck.

They turned to Tony and nodded. "Okay, the triplets have a situation to explain. Go ahead, you three."

They looked between each other for a moment.

Finally Lizzy sat forward. "We didn't get a chance to explain our powers last time we were all together. Mostly to Thor, Steve, and Bruce. I know Arriana and I explained a little while we stayed with you after the battle, but for clarity, I'll give a brief overview." She took a deep breath and let it rush out. "The three of us were mutated when we were eleven. We all have telekinesis – the ability to move things with our minds – and then we each have a specialty. I'm a psychic – I can read minds, Arriana's an empath – she can read feelings, and Michael is what we call an optipath – meaning he can see through another person's eyes. We also sort of share a mind. We each have our own minds, but then there's a shared portion. Sort of like a Venn diagram."

"We have tried to unlink our minds before," Michael said. "But every attempt has caused our powers to sort of explode out of us. So we stopped trying and just accepted it as part of us."

"This is old news, kiddo," Clint said. "What's the point?"

He sighed. "Last May, when Loki was captive on board the Helicarrier, we went against orders."

"Motherfucker," Fury growled.

"We each went to interview Loki," Arriana said. "We thought with our powers we had the best chance of finding out what he was up to."

Natasha gave a harsh laugh. "That's why it was so easy to get him to slip up." She shook her head. "I'm good, but I was surprised how easy it was. You three were in there before me, mucking around in his brain."

"Yes," Arriana said quietly.

"In our defense, it was an emergency," Lizzy said.

"We didn't think anything further of it at the time," Michael said. "The arguing in the lab started, and then the explosion... It didn't seem important."

"But..." Clint prodded.

"In June," Lizzy said, "while we were separated, we each started having trouble with our powers. Nothing big, just little bursts here and there."

"After we went home, we returned to work at the Lightman Group," Arriana said. "Things started getting worse. The day before my birthday, Lizzy had a channeling episode."

"Wait, you haven't had problems with actually channeling someone since you were fourteen," Natasha said.

They nodded.

"We immediately left the Lightman Group and came to see Tony," Michael said. "He's the only real expert on our powers. He worked with us to figure out what was going on. Over the course of a few days of intense meditation we realized someone was calling out to us. Contacting us."

"Oh, I don't like where this is going," Natasha said.

They looked down, biting their lips.

"It took a lot of work, but we managed to make contact with that someone," Arriana said. "With Michael's and my help, Lizzy was able to talk to them. We had no idea who it was. This had never happened before. So we started talking to them. Thinking they were going crazy, the person talked back to us and eventually told us their story."

"It wasn't until well into the story we realized who we were talking to," Michael said.

"Loki," Clint growled.

The triplets exchanged glances with one another.

After a deep breath, Lizzy said, "Yes, it was Loki, but you have to hear his story."

"What the hell did you three do?" Fury said, slamming his hand against the couch arm.

"That is why you went," Natasha said, pinning them to the spot with her intense gaze.

They fought to breathe slowly as their hearts thudded in their chests.

"We didn't mean for this to happen," Arriana said. "But you have to listen."

"Do I have to hit your three over the head too?" Natasha said, shaking her head.

Clint sat silently watching them.

"That's enough," Tony called. "They told me everything."

"So you knew about this, Stark?" Fury barked.

"Yep." He held the director's gaze. "Got a problem, Nick? Besides, I don't think any of us actually answer to you anymore. I think it's safe to say SHIELD's fired them, and I never worked for you."

"What did you do?" Clint growled.

They pulled together, wrapping around each other like they did when they were young. After a few moments, Lizzy shifted, sitting in front of the other two.

"We went to Asgard and broke Loki out of prison."

Silence swallowed the room.

Then an explosion of voices rocked the tower as they all yelled their disapproval. Bruce shifted, starting to search for the exit. Pepper and Tony both tried to yell over the clamor to shut everyone up. The triplets pulled back, and Loki, still invisible to all but them, leaped over them and drew knives from seemingly nowhere.

Thor leaped to his feet. "Silence!"

Shock forced obedience, and everyone turned to look at him.

"Thank you." He looked around the room. "I was somewhat privy to this information. My friends, we must hear them out. I, above all, would agree that my brother has done many things worthy of censure, but is it not your custom to give everyone a fair hearing?"

"He got one," Steve said. "On your planet."

Thor looked down and sighed. "That is where I must begin my explanation, because I am ashamed to say, he did not receive a fair hearing. Or any hearing, for that matter."

"What are you talking about, Thor?" Steve leaned forward to look at him. "You said he'd get a fair trial."

"When I assured you Loki would receive fair trial and judgment, I was sincere. I believed he would. The Allfather, however, saw no need to allow anyone to speak on Loki's behalf, least of all Loki himself. He was judged based solely on what knowledge I gave and sentenced to live the remainder of his life in solitary confinement in the deepest cell of the dungeons."

"Sounds lenient to me," Clint said.

"Had all Loki's actions been his own and without provocation or any other consideration, I would heartily agree, I'm afraid," Thor said. "But if you would all recall, even before I took Loki to Asgard, the triplets all said something felt odd about him."

Attention turned back to the triplets.

"Are we sure he hasn't taken control of their minds?" Clint said.

"Yes," Tony said, rolling his eyes. "They have all looked and acted normal before, during, and after talking to him."

"Yeah, but they'd already talked to him on the Helicarrier."

"Oh, shut up," Tony said.

"What did you say, Stark?" Clint leaped to his feet.

"Stop it! Just stop it!" Arriana cried, curling into a ball.

"We're connected to him now," Michael blurted out. "It's done. There's no going back."

Everyone turned to them again.

Lizzy shrugged. "Apparently we sort of tangled our minds with his on the Helicarrier. He's linked to us the same way we're linked to each other, and it can't be undone."

"Please, just listen to us," Michael said. "We're not asking you to just pardon him. We know he did bad things. We know he killed people. Last I checked, there isn't a person in this room who hasn't killed an innocent person. Maybe Cap. And Pepper, of course."

She gave him a sympathetic smile.

They pulled Arriana between them, petting and stroking her.

"We're just asking for a fair trial," Lizzy said. "Last I checked, we still believe in justice for all. That includes criminals, right?"

No one answered for several long minutes.

"Yes," Steve finally said. "But we want all the information. Don't sugarcoat anything."

"We didn't intend to," Lizzy said, fighting not to roll her eyes.

"Hang on, you broke him out of jail," Clint said. "Where is he? Is he here? I'll kill him."

"Oh, yeah, that'll help," Tony said. "Now's a great time to find out what happens to the triplets if someone connected to them dies."

"You know what, Stark? I've had enough out of you." Clint leaped off the couch, and Tony was immediately on his feet. "You're not the leader of this team or in charge of anybody here."

"No, I just own the building that's keeping you from getting shot."

"I'd be just fine on my own. I don't need you."

"Then get out. I'll happily open the door for you, Birdboy."

"You act like you own everything and know everything. We've known the triplets since the day they stepped into SHIELD."

"Gentlemen, this is not helping our cause," Thor said, getting to his feet.

"You brought this problem here, Thor," Clint said. "You got dumped down on our planet and brought Loki here in the first place. I don't recall signing up to be the time-out planet."

"You know nothing of the decisions of the Allfather, or of Asgard," Thor said, standing to his full, hulking height. "His decisions are for the good of all."

"Since when does Asgard make decisions for our planet?" Natasha said, leaping up. "We are not under your control. We recognize no royalty or ruler from another planet."

"Your princeling butt can go back where you came from, Thunderhead," Tony said. "We don't need you."

"You don't get to decide who is and isn't part of our team, Stark," Clint said.

Tony lifted his hands to encompass the room. "I own the building."

"You know what," Steve said, jumping up, "I've had about as much as I'm going to take of you, Stark."

The floor began to vibrate.

"No!" Arriana screamed. A ring of light exploded from her, knocking everyone down. Their heads spun as lethargy dragged their bodies down like they were trapped in a pool of jello. The light didn't stop at the windows and, in a trance, they watched it sweep out over the city.

Dizzying silence filled the room. They looked around in a daze, momentarily fighting to remember who they were and where they were.

One sound remained, Arriana's quiet sobbing. Michael and Lizzy seemed to be the least effected. They forced their muscles to respond and wrap around her.

"It's okay," Michael cooed, his voice slower than usual. He shook his head. His brain started working a little faster. "We're going to be okay."

Lizzy gave herself a couple shakes. "It's okay, princess. We're here, just like always."

"That went wide," Tony grunted from the floor. "You gotta counter it."

"What?" Michael and Lizzy frowned at him.

"That hit the city. Hospitals, emergency workers. Everything's slowed."

The latch on their brains caught and spun up to speed.

"Shit," Lizzy groaned. She sat for a moment, concentrating on the feeling of making her mind sharp and focused. "Arri, honey, we need to work together to counteract it."

"I... I can't," she sobbed into her hands. "I don't know how."

"Just think quick and sharp," Michael said. He focused on seeing everything as quickly as it should happen. "Come on, Arri. You have to."

Natasha forced her muscles against the heaviness and looked up. "You can do it, detka."

Arriana gasped and sat up, pulling everything into herself as if drawing energy from the air around her. She forced her mind to clear of all the confusion and fear, and feel only happy energy and peace of mind.

"Ready, princess?" Lizzy asked.

"Quick, I can't hold it long."

"On three," Michael said. They got to their feet and gripped each other. "One, two, three."

As he spoke, they stomped their feet as hard as they could. Painfully bright light in all colors burst from them, speeding outward.

Everything spun like an out of control amusement park ride and then came to a sudden stop, as if nothing had happened.

They slowly picked themselves up off the floor, all looking at the triplets.

"Well, that's new," Fury said.


	12. Chapter 12

Clint shook his head and adjusted his hearing aids, since the triplets' frequencies always messed with them a little. As he looked around, he spotted an embossed knife lying on the floor.

Loki looked up and saw him spot his dagger. He reached to snatch it away, but Clint stomped his foot down on it. Loki sprang back as Clint swiped at the air where he had been.

"He's here, isn't he?" Clint hissed.

"That's enough," Fury barked. He sighed and ran a hand over his face. "You don't learn, do you?"

"What are you talking about, sir?"

"I told you." He shook his head. "The bunch of you wouldn't last five minutes together without them. And normally I'd let you at each other, but right now the whole damn free world is on the line, so shut the hell up, all of you, and listen to them."

Natasha put a hand on Clint's arm, and leaned into his ear. "Uspoykoysya. Eto to, chto ikh bespokoilo. Im nuzhno zna', chto my ikh ne nenavidim. I ya znayu, chto ty ikh ne nenavidish'." (Calm down. This is what bothered them. They need to know that we do not hate them. And I know that you don't hate them.)

He licked his lips for a moment and then nodded. Holding up his hands, he moved back and sat on the couch again. "I'm calm," he said. Natasha sat down next to him, her eyes scanning the triplets.

"Everybody sit down," Steve said.

Tony opened his mouth to snap back, but glanced over at the triplets, took a deep breath, and moved back to his perch on the couch. Thor nodded after a moment and sat down too. Lizzy glanced over at Bruce. He shook slightly as he shifted back onto the couch, but when he met her eyes he gave her a half smile.

Steve turned to the triplets, avoiding meeting Arriana's gaze. "I know you understand this is a charged subject. However we all agreed, even after the battle, that Loki should have a fair trial. Thor said he never got one, so then it's up to us." He looked over at Fury. "With all due respect, sir, I think this should be a decision up to the nine of us. We fought him, so we should judge him. Does everyone agree?" He looked around the circle.

Murmured agreement answered him.

"We respect you, but given the current circumstance, the Avengers are no longer under the command of SHIELD."

Fury nodded slowly. "Sounds fair enough. I'm not looking to be anybody's mommy."

"Do we all agree that, criminal or not, Loki should receive a fair trial?" Steve asked.

"Yes," Tony said right away.

"Fine by me," Bruce said. "So long as everybody calms down."

They all turned to look at him. He worked to breathe slowly, running a hand through his hair every few moments.

"Sorry, Bruce," Steve said. "We got a little out of hand."

He gave a harsh snort. "A little? You're just all lucky Arriana went off and not the other guy."

"Big guy's pretty good at calming things down," Tony said with a chuckle.

"Yeah, I don't think calm is usually the feeling most people have, Tony."

He shrugged. "It'd make me feel better."

Steve shook his head, but let the comment go for the moment. He turned back to the triplets. "Is Loki here?"

"We're not telling you where we hid him," Lizzy said.

"I meant on this floor?"

She glared at him.

"So he is in the tower," Clint said.

"Smooth, Capsicle," Tony said. "So we can say stealth isn't your thing, huh?"

A vein began to twitch in Steve's temple. "Knock if off, Stark."

"Can't take a hint, apparently."

"Stop fighting!" Arriana yelled, leaping to her feet. "I'm sick of everyone fighting. We are grown-ass adults. Can't we act like it?" She spun to look at Clint and Natasha. "We're sorry we didn't tell you, but we couldn't get in touch with you and there wasn't time to wait and hold a committee meeting. We figured we could go break him out of jail, bring him here, and keep him under our guard. Then, when we could get a hold of everyone, we'd discuss everything." She huffed out a breath and dropped back onto the couch. "We didn't mean for things to happen. They just did."

Clint and Natasha looked at each other for a moment. Finally, Clint nodded.

"It's okay, Carebear," he said. "I understand." He got to his feet and wandered over to them. "You're right. We trained you to make the best decision you could at the moment." He opened his arms. "Come here. You're okay. I'm not mad at you."

The triplets looked up at him for a moment, and then Arriana sprang to her feet and into his arms.

"Hey, you're okay, Carebear. You're right." He looked at the other two. "Come here."

They got to their feet, but he didn't wait for them to come to him and pulled them into his hug. "I know we trained you well. You don't make stupid decisions." He held them for a few moments and then stepped back, looking them in the eyes one at a time. "Okay. Now that I'm satisfied you're all you, we want to hear everything you found out. Just run us through what convinced you. We'll go from there."

They nodded and curled up on their couch again.

"Well, for weeks before we had to leave the Lightman Group," Lizzy said, "we'd been having nightmares of a strange-looking prison cell. All four walls were glass, the walls and ceiling were white, and there was bright light on all the time. No windows, no visible door. We couldn't even tell what time of day it was."

"No clock?" Natasha asked. "You couldn't see into a hallway to see a nearby window or anything?"

She shook her head. "The area around the cell was dark, so we couldn't see anything outside, and there was no clock or other way to tell time."

"Most of time the nightmares were just pain," Michael said. "Like, inside of us."

"Physical?" Clint asked.

"Mostly. The rest was probably mostly fear."

The triplets glanced at Loki out of the corner of their eyes. He put up his hands and nodded.

Tell them whatever you experienced, he said in their minds. As much pride as I have, it is more important you are honest with your friends. He wandered behind them, stroking the back of their necks. It is more important you are happy, than I maintain my pride and dignity.

A smile lifted the corners of their mouths.

"We didn't know what we were seeing and didn't really say anything at first," Arriana said.

"But as time went on," Michael said, "we'd make a comment here or there, and one day we all looked at each other, wondering if we were having the same nightmare."

"Is that unusual, for you to have the same nightmare?" Bruce asked.

"Most of the time," Lizzy said. "Sometimes we share similar nightmares, but our individual minds usually interpret even the same thing differently, so for us all to be seeing the same things... it was strange. We discussed it and decided to keep an eye on it. Then, I think it was the 2nd or 3rd of July, we were all asleep and we saw the same thing. The cell as usual, but guards dressed like something out of the Renaissance festival came in and beat the hell out of us."

"I do not understand what the Renaissance festival is," Thor said.

"Sorry, Thor," Michael said. "It's a Fair that's held in various states. The point is that the men were dressed in old-styled armor and carried swords rather than guns."

"And they..." A frowned darkened his usually cheerful face. "They hurt... you?"

"It seemed like us," Lizzy said. "We were in the eyes of the person."

The words did nothing to calm him, but he didn't say anything further.

"When we woke up," Arriana said, "we were all sore. Not as severe as it should've felt if it had been us, but sort of a dull ache. Like we'd been beaten up a week or so ago."

"We went over everything," Michael said. "We knew something was wrong, and we started telling each other about the little flares of our powers we'd been having."

"You hadn't told each other?" Clint said.

He shook his head. "We didn't think it was a big deal. We figured it was the after-effects of the battle and it would die back down. I mean, we hadn't used so much of our power at one time since we were kids, really. But it was becoming clear that things weren't dying down. We still didn't think it was anything to raise an alarm over, however."

"In the few days before my birthday," Arriana said, "all three of us were having more and more powerful flares. I was having trouble with feeling listless at times, or intense fear would grip me. Michael was having flashes of the cell even during the day, and Lizzy was having thoughts and memories that sure weren't her own. And it didn't seem to be coming from anyone near us either, which is the usual cause."

"People near you?" Bruce said. "Meaning if someone physically nearby has a strong thought or emotion you can sense it?"

"Sometimes," Lizzy said. "We try to keep our brains to ourselves, but if it's particularly strong, yeah."

He pressed his lips for a moment, but nodded, falling silent again.

"Things started breaking through by the fifth," Michael said. "I think Arriana had a full channeling on the fifth in a full panicked breakdown. I channeled on the sixth. I got stuck somewhere else, looking through eyes that weren't mine."

"We'd managed to keep everything hidden, though," Arriana said. "Even Lightman, as observant as he was, didn't notice. I mean, he knew we seemed to be stressed out and we weren't doing well, but he helpfully chocked it all up to the attack on New York. But on the seventh we were sitting in his office when Lizzy channeled."

"What happened?" Natasha asked.

"From what they said," Lizzy said, "I went into the trance-like state I do and then started spouting gibberish. At least, gibberish to us."

"What did you see?"

"Well, without Michael I didn't really see anything, but the thoughts were terrified. Thoughts of not wanting to be hurt anymore. Pain, hunger, and thirst. Really similar to the nightmare where we'd gotten the crap kicked out of us."

"When she came to," Michael said, "she told us in our minds that something was wrong and we told her she'd just channeled all of that and that Lightman saw. So we said we weren't feeling well and rushed to see Tony."

Clint shifted several times.

"We did try to call you," Arriana said, "but we got your usual message that meant you were on a mission. We needed help and we needed help now. And even you've always said Tony's the expert on our powers. He understands more what's driving them and how they function, not just on a behavioral basis, but on a molecular level."

He forced a breath out, but nodded.

"We told him everything that had been happening and he suggested we were channeling someone specific since we were all experiencing the same things from our individual perspective, and nothing made sense as just a PTSD response to the battle."

"Tony suggested we try intensive meditation to try to reach out to whomever this was," Lizzy said. "Since there didn't seem to be any other good explanation, we decided it was worth a try."

"It took two days of almost constant meditation," Michael said, "before we made contact. At first we couldn't hold the connection for long. No more than a few minutes. Slowly we got better at it. We started making physical contact with each other while we meditated to try to combine our efforts."

"That's when we were able to make a solid connection," Lizzy said.

"What do you mean combine your efforts?" Natasha asked.

The triplets looked at each other for a few moments, frowning.

"I guess, we sort of moved into our shared mind space and reached out from there," Arriana said. "We tried to make ourselves into a single being. Once we made the connection, we were able to see, feel, and hear the thoughts of the person we were contacting."

"Why didn't you just ask who it was?" Clint asked.

"I did," Lizzy said. "But the person we were talking to was hearing a voice and feeling the presence of three people in their head..." She shrugged. "They rather sensibly thought they were going crazy."

"The strange part," Michael said, "was that they were happy to be going crazy."

"Happy?" Steve said. "Why would anyone be happy about going crazy?"

Lizzy shrugged. "If disconnection from the real world is better than the real world..."

"But couldn't you just have pushed until they gave their name?" Clint said.

She sighed. "It's not that simple in the mind, Clint, you know that. It wasn't important to the person, and their mind wasn't..." She fell quiet for a moment. "It wasn't a stable mind. They were fragile. Really fragile. I couldn't go poking around for information without risking collapse, and if their mind collapsed with us inside it, we could risk being trapped. We've never had that happen before, but with the way our powers function, it seems like a reasonable conclusion."

"And keep in mind the one thing they knew for certain," Tony said, "was that this person had managed to contact them. This wasn't the triplets just hearing someone close or them searching someone out. Everything was happening to them, and to such an extent that they couldn't just lead their normal lives. They had to figure out what was going on and how to stop it."

Arriana nodded. "And since it was so hard for us to reach them, we didn't want to lose the connection. Clearly whoever this was needed help."

"So we started asking other information," Michael said. "We got snatches of memories, thoughts on what was happening now... just things here and there."

"When our energy was almost exhausted, the person was really freaked out that we had to go," Lizzy said. "So we promised to come back. They wondered about what time it was. Arriana managed to reach back into herself enough to reach into Tony's mind to ask what time it was and relay it back to us. I told the person and it soothed them a lot, to say the very least."

"So, clearly suffering time deprivation," Natasha said.

Clint's face darkened. "They were being tortured then."

The triplets nodded.

"We managed to return to our own minds and then passed out," Michael said. "When we woke back up, Tony said we'd slept for almost 12 hours straight. We re-energized as much as we could, and then made contact again."

"The person was so happy to feel our presence again," Arriana said. "Intense relief and just... that feeling when the person you love most in the world comes home after being gone for months."

Steve shifted and stared out the window again.

She bit her lip, but continued. "We had briefly talked before making contact again that we needed to find out how the person got to their current circumstance. From there we might be able to figure out what was happening to us. So Lizzy asked."

"The person didn't really want to dwell on it," Lizzy said, "and I couldn't demand. They were so fragile I had to have Arriana do her best to comfort, even Michael worked to be as comforting as possible. Eventually I managed to convince them to talk to me while Arriana and Michael mentally hugged them. Finally they agreed. They said they were adopted, but hadn't known until recently..."


End file.
